The battle for Acme Falls
by Animania123
Summary: What happens after Yakko, Wakko and Dot kicked out King Salazar? They have to save their town by teaming up with a girl named Cassie who has a lot more to do with the situation than they think. Comedy, romance, family, and friendship- and so much more.
1. Prologue

**Hey ya'll! So since this is my first story I'd like to say thanks for viewing. This story is going to be one, I hope, that people will write good reviews on and hopefully enjoy. I'm so excited to finally start writing! Well, all you people out there- if you like me, awesome! If you hate me, just remember that I still love you too. Kind of. Anyway, one more thing- I don't own Animaniacs or any of the other characters from the movie. And I did make and own some characters. This story is my idea of a great sequel to the ever-awesome movie, Wakko's Wish. Hope you don't get too bored. Thanks! Now start reading already! Review! Bye!**

** Prologue**

When Yakko, Wakko, and Dot had kicked out King Salazar, (or as they liked to call him, Salad Bar) peace and prosperity had returned to the once dismal, but now beautiful village of Acme Falls. It seemed like nothing could ever ruin the perfect atmosphere of the town ever again. Turned out that The Warner siblings made great kings and had gotten their wish, everyone except one person.

Salazar's sister.

Yes, Salazar had had a sister, just two years older than him, favored by their mother. Griselda was her name, and she was tougher than a professional wrestler, and cleverer than anyone in Ticktockia, where she and Salazar had been raised. Since she was the oldest, she had been given the Jewel of Ticktockia when she was born, a purple diamond that hung around her neck by a silver chain, which had the powers to control spells and magic forces. The wearer was the only person who could take it off, willingly, and it was passed down through generations, never to be stolen or lost.

Salazar wanted to take over Warnerstock as soon as King William had died. But so did Griselda. At the castle where they lived, they started to have an argument. Over time, the arguing had turned in to fighting, and the fighting into a duel. Each sibling was fighting to kill. Finally, after two long and brutal days of nonstop combat, Salazar pulled the trigger on his gun, aimed at his own sister, and she fell to the ground. Feeling no remorse, Salazar left his sister for dead, and went off to take over Warnerstock.

But Griselda had lived. She had survived the gunshot, and slowly recovered at the castle, waiting for the opportune moment to take her brother down. The night before she tried to begin the invasion, she took off her crystal and gave it to her most trusted advisor, Sir Trace Bennett. She didn't want anything to go wrong, everything had to be perfect, and she thought Trace could keep her crystal safe. But that was a big mistake.

Trace was a double agent, working for the good of Acme Falls. He'd lived in Ticktockia for most of his life, working his way in good with the queen, until she undoubtedly trusted him. But now, with this crystal, he could overthrow Griselda and save his home. But how, exactly?

Then Trace, who had returned to his quarters that night, looked down at his 5 month old daughter, Cassidy Ann. And he knew what he had to, but never, ever, wanted to do. Trace put the silver chain around his beloved daughter's neck, and whispered, "I love you," Then he hurried, wrapping her in a blanket, and took her down to the lowest hall. He paid a man to take care of her, and take her deep into Warnerstock, and away from Ticktockia, where Griselda could never find her. It wasn't the best plan, but the only thing Trace wanted was for his daughter and his home to be safe, and Cassie was safer enough away from here. Though it pained him to do it with all of his heart, Trace planted a kiss on Cassie's forehead and sent the man off. But the guards had spotted him, seeing he was a traitor, and imprisoned him in the dungeon for betraying his queen.

As for Cassie, well, she had fared no better than the Warner sibs when the orphanage had shut down. She'd actually fared worse. The man Trace had sold her to was mean, and lazy and cruel. He ordered Cassie to work, day and night, to support themselves, while he sat and did nothing. He yelled at her a lot, and beat her when she messed up. Cassie was miserable and believed that the evil man really was her own father. All she knew was her name, which was the only thing that the man had told her. Cassie Ann Bennett. It sounded so beautiful, and it suited her, because she was, but Cassie believed she was a stupid, ugly maid, for that was all the man called her.

When she had turned 9, Cassie decided that she had had enough. While the man was sleeping in the dead of night, Cassie had packed her things (though she didn't have very much), and had ran away. She didn't care where she was going, or who she was running towards, she just knew that she couldn't take it anymore. Finally, she collapsed in an old and abandoned alley from exhaustion, and cried herself to sleep. When she woke up, she didn't feel any different. She still felt like she was just a hopeless child, but now she was going to die. What would she eat? Where would she live?

But Cassie had become strong from all of the yelling and beating. She told herself she could do it. And so she lived on the streets for 3 years. Stealing food from trash cans had become her specialty, sleeping her hobby, and an abandoned alley her home. When she had reached twelve years of age, Cassie was starting to give up. Baron von Plotz was taxing to the extreme, and the grocery shops had closed down, so no more food from the trash. In fact, almost _everything_ had closed down. Cassie didn't see how anyone in this town was going to make it through the winter. So one night, Cassie laid her head down on the piece of hay that was her makeshift pillow, fell asleep, and just prayed that she wouldn't wake up.

But as if an angel had been sent down from above, a passing man saw Cassie in the middle of the night, and stopped. Most of the people that saw Cassie and stopped wanted to take her in, but thought about it first.

_We all have our problems. She's no better than the rest of us. And I don't want another mouth to feed. _They thought.

And so they passed on. But this old man was the kind and generous Timothy Harrison, who owned an antique bookstore down the street. When he saw Cassie he thought about how he needed an apprentice and how he had always wanted a child of his own. So he adopted Cassie and welcomed her into his home.

And for one year, they lived happily together, despite the hard times they were living in. Mr. Harrison was extremely bright and funny, and was the best storyteller in the world.. Cassie loved working at _Harrison's bookstore. _It was fun. Hard work, but fun. And when King Salazar had gotten booted (literally) out of the kingdom, things got even better. Business was booming, and the town was looking bright and happy instead of dark and depressing. But even though she loved her new life, Cassie wanted to have some friends. She met a lot of people who walked in out of the store, but they didn't stay for long. More than that, she wanted adventure. She wanted to do something worthwhile like the heroes in the books she read about. Something… amazing.

Even though she had a kinda- sorta normal life now, Cassie still couldn't help wondering what that weird crystal around her neck was. She knew she'd had it since birth, but she didn't exactly know why she had it. And it was starting to creep her out. First of all, she never felt like taking it off. Ever. And whenever someone tried to touch it, the diamond would glow purple and the person would draw back their hand, screaming in pain. She had gotten one of the worst beatings of all time from The Man for that once. Cassie didn't understand it. But she wasn't about to go crazy over it. She was just glad she was happy and living with someone who cared for her.

And as for Yakko, Wakko, and Dot? They were enjoying royalty just fine. It sure beat that crummy water tower. But little did they know that that feeling would be about as short- lived as Wakko's attention span.

Darkness was creeping back into Acme Falls.

….…

Yakko couldn't breathe. Some goon kept knocking the wind out of him again and again. With one more blow, he sent Yakko sprawled across the dirt floor, his lower lip swollen and dripping blood. His brown slacks were ripped and dirty, and he had cuts and bruises covering his arms and face. Yakko rolled over and looked around, fighting to stay conscious. Cassie was fighting Griselda head on. Both were furiously sending deadly flashes of light at each other, Wakko was pounding the crap out of a group Ticks with his mallet, and Dot was nowhere to be seen, although he could hear her screaming words that he normally would have punished her for saying. But they were losing. Yakko knew they couldn't win.

He was sorry. So, so sorry. Sorry to Cassie for all the fighting, and how he'd endangered her life, all the mistakes he'd made, and how her dad was gone, even though he knew that part wasn't his fault. She was an amazing person, and she deserved to survive more than he ever did. But even Griselda could see that she was wearing out. Every evil spell she shot her way, she would deflect, but she was just barely getting them. Yakko could see the pain in her eyes. He wanted to help her. At least she would take care better care of Wakko and Dot than him. And that reminded him-

He was sorry to his siblings most of all. He'd failed them. Yakko so wanted to save them and get them away from this horrible place, to their home, safe and sound. But he knew it was impossible. They were all trapped. And yet they were so brave, so strong. Where were the young brother and sister who had clung onto him and cried when the orphanage shut down? They'd grown so much, not really chronologically, but more mentally. And he knew they wouldn't stop fighting, even if he did.

Yakko felt hot tears coming down his face, and he received another painful kick in the ribs.

What would become of Acme Falls? They'd probably destroy it, all of it, with one flick of a finger. All the people he'd come to know and love, too. Scratchy, Skippy, Slappy, Hello Nurse, Rita, Runt, Pinky and the Brain. All of his closest friends. He just couldn't lose them! But he was already. It was almost over.

How did it come to this? How could he have let this happen? He'd failed them. He'd failed them all.

**Sooooo are you bored yet? That was kind of a long prologue. Sorry if my writing sucks, it's my first real time doing a fanfic. But if you DID like it (thank you!), the next chapter will be coming soon. And if you LOVED it, review please, because I want to know if this is worth writing. I've got a lot of ideas and I want to make this story the best it can be. I do not own Animaniacs so please don't sue me, because I think I'm actually off to a pretty good start. Thanks! Review! **

** Animania123 out.**


	2. Whispers from Within

**Hey didja miss me? Haha. I'm starting to sound like the Warners themselves, aren't I? So anyway, welcome back. If you read my prologue to this story, then I could not thank you more for coming back! I hope you'll like this chapter (well duh, it's the first one) and review plz! I don't own Animaniacs, so again, try not to sue me. Enjoy the following and REVIEW! Peace.**

**Chapter One- Whispers from Within**

Yakko Warner sighed and stretched out in his king size bed. He turned to his alarm clock. 8:23 AM. Well, that hadn't been the best sleep he'd ever had, he had to admit. He remembered tossing and turning and thinking about some purple light, glowing, and getting closer, and closer- Then he'd wake up in a cold sweat. It hadn't been fun.

But what did he care? It was early, the sunrise was beautiful, and any minute now, some pretty girl would come running in bringing a tray of pancakes and maple syrup. Yes, royal life was a burden. But Yakko thought he was handling it just fine.

Later when Yakko got showered and dressed in his same old brown slacks, he started to make his way down the humongous golden hallway towards Wakko's room. He always got kind of lonely in the morning and liked talking with his brother before they got on with their day. And no way was he waking up Dot. She always liked to get on with her "cutie" sleep and Yakko didn't really feel like getting maimed by his baby sister this early in the morning. When he reached Wakko's door, he knocked.

"Wakko? Get up already, the maids have been asking for you. Something about snuggling?" Yakko didn't really mean it, but that always got Wakko straight out of bed in about two seconds flat.

Sure enough, the door opened immediately and Wakko Warner stood in the doorway, still in his blue pajamas, and his tongue hanging out from the side, like always.

"Really? They are?" he asked eagerly.

"No, but I bet some girls out on the streets are just dying to see you," Yakko ruffled his brothers hair while Wakko looked slightly miffed. "Hey, I think I'm gonna go out today. Haven't really checked out the town in a while, and I'm starting to go crazy being cooped up in here all the time."

Yakko missed not seeing his friends for a while and he needed some fresh air for a change.

"You wanna come?"

"Nah, not really. I think I'll just stay here and try to top my record of eating a two- pound hamburger in only a minute. Then we can start decorating for my party! But you're waking up Dot," Wakko said while he put on his bright red cap.

"Not it!"

"Not it! Aw, man!" Wakko groaned while Yakko was chuckling. "But I did it last time!" Wakko called out after his brother, who was already walking down the hallway and turning the corner.

"Sorry! Can't hear ya!" came the reply.

"Ugh." Wakko sighed as he started walking to Dot's room. "Oh, well. Maybe she'll actually show me some mercy today," he said to himself. Then he stopped walking and burst out laughing. As if!

….

Yakko strode through the halls of the castle. Man, this place was big. Back when he and his sibs had lived in the old orphanage, everything was in one small place. The old wooden house would creak at night, and it used to scare Yakko when he was very little. Yakko laughed to himself when he remembered the night that he, Wakko and Dot stayed up all night trying to battle a monster in the closet when it turned out to be just an old, overlong coat and a hat. Wakko had tried stabbing it with a broom. Yep, despite the horrible conditions they'd lived in, they'd had some pretty good times in there.

But it was all different now. Yakko shoved his hands into his pockets as he thought about it. He never got to see his friends anymore. Mostly, he got to go into town maybe once or twice every two months. And being co-rulers his brother and sister was getting to be real hard work.

They had to read long, boring letters, listen to reports from messengers who came from different countries, memorize bits of laws and rules for the town. And then there were the school lessons. Yakko shuddered at the thought of them. Every day, week after week, they had to sit down to listen to the worst schoolmistress in all creation: Miss Canter. She was the strictest and most boring teacher _ever._ All day, nothing but history and literature and math. Yakko thought he might've even liked school if anyone else had been teaching. But no. Miss Canter was quite possibly the cause of all the world's problems. If she was? Yakko wouldn't have been surprised. He was just lucky it was the weekend.

Yeah, royalty had its ups and downs, but all in all, it was just great to be living in a place that Yakko and his sibs could live in peace, without taxes, or evil kings, or poverty, or wishing stars to worry about. Yakko turned a corner, almost to the main doors that would lead him outside.

"Quick! Quick! Get inside!" a voice suddenly hissed from behind a storage closet door. A guard came running and squeezed inside before anyone else saw him.

Yakko almost ran into a suit of armor. He'd been so deep in thought; he'd almost thought the voice was talking to him. But it didn't matter now. He pressed his back to the wall by the door when it closed. He wanted to figure out what was so important that two people had to hide from society to discuss.

"You have news?" The guard's panting voice asked.

"Much. And none of it good." Replied the second. "Many of our allies have been found out and imprisoned, and many more of them killed. Griselda is onto us. I've only just escaped, and I think I won't be able to return. The gates of Ticktockia are now even more heavily guarded. She knows."

_Griselda knows what? Who is this chick? And did he just say he came all the way from Ticktockia, the country that sleaze Salazar came from? _Yakko was overflowing with questions, but he turned his head to listen more.

"Well, she wouldn't come here, right? She knows whoever has the weapon can stop her. Its powers are matched by no other's," the guard's voice sounded worried.

"I'm not sure. Griselda has waited too long, and she knows it, too. She must know where it is. I just hope who ever has it can use it well. Because if Griselda takes over, we have no other way of stopping her. Before I left, I also heard her saying something about an even bigger plan. One much more dangerous."

"Then we should flee! Run away before she gets here," the guard whimpered and sounded scared out of his wits. "You know what she can do," he whispered.

"No. Not yet. She wouldn't attack now. I mean, it would take her weeks, maybe months to even get here. Ticktockia and Warnerstock are much too far apart. We'd see her coming from a mile away. We'll be ready." The second voice gave a small laugh, but it didn't sound very reassuring.

"Then I must go. Good luck," the guard whispered.

"And to you,"

The door started to open and Yakko scrambled to get as far away from it as possible before anyone stepped out. It was obvious that those two hadn't wanted anyone hearing them, and Yakko wasn't about to get caught, even though he was a king.

Yakko walked through the gate and out into the cobblestone streets of Acme Falls and sat down on a bench. He needed to process what he had just heard.

….

Wakko, now dressed in his blue long-sleeved shirt, didn't bother knocking on Dot's pink door, but rather just let himself into her huge, pink and girly room. Wakko pretended to gag at the cheezy pictures of Dot, herself, making really big eyes or blowing a kiss, plastered all around the room, not to mention the even grosser Mel Gibson ones.

Wakko suddenly realized that Dot wasn't in her bed, snoring like she usually was. But he heard the shower was on. Wakko got an idea. Dot was helpless and defensive. This was Wakko's chance to get her back for all the times she'd nearly killed him when he tried to wake her up. Wakko smiled evilly and tiptoed to the pink shower curtain in her bathroom. He took in a deep breath and yelled, "BOO!", while hitting the shower curtain for dramatic effect.

Wakko heard the satisfying scream of terror, and fell over on the floor, shaking with laughter.

Dot yanked back the curtain, in a towel, soaking wet, and with shampoo still dripping from her hair. She had a murderous look on her face, and stepped out of the shower slowly, as though plotting Wakko's demise already.

"Wakko Warner," Dot's voice was shaking with rage- a very bad sign.

But Wakko simply got up, dusted himself off, and said, "Y'know, you're awfully cute when you're an-"

"Don't you dare try that one on me, Wakko! You nearly gave me a heart attack, and you know it! I'll… I'll…"

"You'll what?" taunted Wakko in an _oh- I'd- like-to-see-you-try-it_ kind of tone.

Dot growled and punched him in the arm, hard.

"Ow!" Wakko rubbed his bicep and glared at Dot.

"Oh, forget it. You're just lucky I'm too tired to get you back right now,"

Dot walked over to the sink and started to rinse out her hair.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Wakko said with an air of sarcasm. "Drama queen" he coughed.

"What was that?" Dot whirled around.

"Nothing." Wakko said a little too quickly.

Dot gave him a warning look and went behind the big white divider to change.

"So anyways, what'cha wanna do today?" Wakko said excitedly while bouncing up and down on Dot's frilly bed while.

"I don't know. Go terrorize the cooking staff?" Dot suggested as she pulled on her cute little pink skirt.

"Yeah!" Wakko jumped off the bed and ran out the door with his sister, laughing and talking about how they were going to pour tomato soup down the cook's pants.

Everything seemed fine. For now.

….

Yakko was thinking so hard that it hurt. There was still so much he didn't understand. Why would this "Griselda" want to take over Acme Falls? And what was the object the guards were talking about- something whose powers were matched by no other's… It made no sense.

But even though he understood little, Yakko tried not to worry about it. Because, seriously, if this evil witch wanted to rule this place and take over the throne, she would have done it long ago, when Salazar had been in charge and Warnerstock so poor and vulnerable, it was ridiculous. And the other guy was right, Acme Falls may not have an army, but they could still see her coming from miles away.

It wasn't really like Yakko to blow off something this serious, but just then, he spotted a majorly attractive woman in a red dress walking down the street.

Yakko's eyes turned into hearts, and he whistled, "Helloooooo, nurse!" and got up to follow her. The lady turned around and gave him a smile and a sly wink, then sashayed around a corner.

Yakko sprinted to catch up, but it was like trying to catch a cockroach on steroids. Weirdly enough, she seemed to float, rather than walk, like an angel.

"Aw, wait up! I was just about to go skinny dipping! Come on!" Yakko said between gasps of breath.

Yakko was about to give up when he saw her flounce up some brick steps in her pointy high heels, and into an old- looking bookstore. He slowed down, walking, trudging, and finally stopped and slumped down on the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"Oy. These girls have been giving me quite the workout lately. I might have to start restraining myself," he said. Then he rolled his eyes. Anyone who knew him well knew that _that_ wasn't going to happen in a million years. Yakko eventually stood up and peeked inside the window.

There were tons and tons of old and majestic-looking books, not just on the dusty shelves, but overflowing from rustic armchairs, piled onto wood tables, and even in some messy stacks on the floor. An old man who looked like the owner was talking to some customers, over by the cash register. He had graying hair and a kind old face overflowing with wrinkles. He was wearing an old tweed jacket and long brown pants that slightly covered his old black boots.

_Sheesh. If you're an old person, chances are you're gonna dress like one, I guess._

Where was that blonde lady he was looking for? There were many people shuffling around inside, but none of them were her. One of them caught his eye.

He looked over to one of the tables and saw a girl who looked about his age, who was organizing some historic novels. She had straight caramel-colored hair that went down to her shoulders, and pretty bangs swept over her right eye. There was a small spray of freckles across her fair-skinned face. She was wearing a ratty blue t-shirt and small denim shorts that looked like they'd been through the mill, many, many times. In fact, so did she. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hands looked bony and skeletal, maybe from a lot of hard work or something. But every once in a while, she'd open a book, read a couple of lines, and smile or laugh.

_Whoa. I wouldn't mind chasing after her, either. _Yakko thought she looked pretty hot. Even though the t shirt looked old, it still fit her reaaaaal good.

_Wait a minute, Yakko. Only one small candy at a time. Eat them all at once and you'll get a stomach ache. _Yakko grinned, pulled open the door, and stepped inside.

**Like the story so far? I'm trying to get the character's personalities down as best as I can. Did you guess who the girl Yakko was staring at in the bookshop was? S'okay if ya didn't cuz she's coming up in the next chapter right away. Stay tooned! (Haha, see what I did there? :P Yes, I know, I'll try to be funnier.) And don't forget to review! **

**Catch you on the flip side (whatever that means),**

**Animania123.**


	3. A less than inviting meeting

**Okay, let's get this party started! Wow. My intros are just getting lamer and lamer. Try to ignore that last part and let's get on with the story. This is personally one of my fave chapters, so let loose your imagination and try picturing this in your mind exactly as it happens, with all the colors, sounds, and feelings. Make it feel like whatever the heck it is you want! I find that helpful when I'm reading fanfic. Alright, I've been droning on for too long. Reading time!**

**Chapter Two- A less-than inviting meeting**

Cassie's brown hair fell over on the right side of her face, shielding her from the outside world as she was lost in her book. She knew she was supposed to be organizing the whole stack, but she was so intrigued by their titles. Gone with the Wind, Name of the Rose, Sword Song. Why couldn't she just lock herself in a room filled with books, and devour them, one by one, for the rest of her life? So little time, so much to do.

Cassie heard the bell over the door tinkle as someone entered the shop for about the three- hundredth time today. Again. She was supposed to go and ask if the customer wanted help with anything, but Cassie thought she would keep reading for a while- just this once. She'd been working her butt off all day, and she wanted a short break. After that, she'd go straight back to work. Besides, it was a bookstore. If the customer needed help picking out a book, they needed to go to a self- encouragement class.

Suddenly, the teardrop shaped diamond hanging on the silver chain around her neck started glowing. Cassie gasped. It'd had done this before, from time to time, maybe every week or so, just for a few seconds, and then it stopped. But now it wasn't glowing, it was beaming. The light coming from it was actually pulsating, like a heartbeat, and it was brighter than ever before. Cassie, trying not to arouse attention, quickly ripped it off, stuffed it in her purse that was sitting nearby, and kicked it away before anyone else saw it.

Someone tapped Cassie on the shoulder.

"Um, s'cuse me? Can you help me with something?"

Looks like my break's over early.

Cassie turned around to face the person who was talking, and her book dropped to the floor.

Oh, god, it's one of the kings! What the heck does he want?

"Yeah, have you seen like a really sexy blonde woman in a red dress come in here just now? I saw her run in here just now, and I'm sorta looking for her." The guy had on a totally neutral expression, like he did this kind of stuff every day.

That's it? Wow, this guy has problems.

"No, I haven't seen anyone like that come in here, but I'm sure you'll find her. You seem like the kind of guy who attracts a lot of ladies. What's your record? Ten in a day?" Cassie was putting on the sarcasm. It seemed like nothing else was going to get this guy's attention.

"Well actually, it's- Hey, you might want to be watching your tone, there. I happen to be a-"

"King, I know. Who doesn't?" Cassie turned around and went back to her book. She seriously didn't have the time to deal with these perverted players, even if they were royalty or not.

"Hey. Just because you like me doesn't mean you have to be such a smart-"

Cassie turned around again, laughing.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Me, like you? You know, I never would have thought that you self-centered ladies' men actually had a sense of humor, other than a dirty one. Keep it up. Maybe someday you'll actually get a girl who isn't some makeup- slathered slut you found on the street."

Maybe she'd gone a little too far. The dude snatched her book right out of her hands and started to skim the pages with his finger.

"Hey, give that back, it's mine!" Cassie made a dive for it, but he held it out of her reach.

"Then apologize." The king taunted. "Someone's gotta teach you to not to mouth off to me when I'm trying to hit on you and/or another girl."

"Oh, real mature, Mr. I'm-so-rich-that-it-hurts. Give it back, you jerk!" Cassie stretched out her arm, but she couldn't reach. People were starting to stare.

"Fine!" the guy thrust the book back into her grabbing hands, walked over and wrenched open the door.

Cassie ran up to door way and put her left hand on the metal pane.

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Great!"

The king stepped out. "I won't be seeing you!"

"Terrific!"

The guy started to slam the door shut, but Cassie's hand was still on the door pane, and she couldn't move it in time.

"Hey, no, wait-"

But it was happening too fast. The door slammed shut on Cassie's three middle fingers. There was a sickening crunch and Cassie cried out in pain.

The guy quickly opened the door and stepped back inside, looking horrified at what he had just done.

"Ow…" Cassie cradled her hand and tried to keep the tears from rolling.

Well, even though he is just a stupid creep, this is still pretty embarrassing, was all she could think of.

….

Yakko carefully laid down the ice pack on the girl's pulsing, twisted fingers.

"There," he said, pulling up another chair.

Out of all the times I've made a girl cry, this has by far been the worst.

Yakko and the brown-haired girl were both sitting on chairs in the back room. It was cramped in there, with tons of cardboard boxes stacked up to the ceiling and a small fridge on a white tile floor. It was hard to breathe, too, but he didn't want to stay out there in the store, with all those people staring. They'd already made too much of a scene as it was, what with all the yelling and insulting.

There wasn't a sound being made. The only noise was the hum of the refrigerator.

"I'm sorry," The girl's hoarse voice broke the silence.

"Me too," was all Yakko could say. He really hadn't meant to smash her fingers in a door. He'd just gotten so mad when she had called him Mr. I'm-so-rich-that-it-hurts. Yakko may have been a jerk back there, but he was not a spoiled brat who played with money like it was a toy. For one thing, he hadn't even had a dime to spend for himself or his siblings when he was growing in in the orphanage. And he had promised himself that he wasn't going to let the power go to his head when he had found out about their royal lineage.

And he wasn't that bad of a player. Was he?

"I'm Cassidy Bennett." The girl stuck out her bad hand by mistake and dropped the ice pack. Blushing, she picked it up again and stuck out her good hand instead. "Um, you can call me Cassie. If you wanna."

Yakko pretended not to notice her dropping the ice pack, and took her hand in his.

"Yakko Warner. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime," He added with a smile.

Cassie rolled her eyes as she retracted her arm, but she smiled just the same.

"So…it must be fun being a king, huh?" she asked.

Yakko sighed. "Not as fun as you might think, actually. But yeah, I guess it's great to not live in a broken down old water tower anymore."

"You used to live at the orphanage?" Cassie suddenly seemed interested.

…

"Yeah. Me and by sibs, Wakko and Dot used lived there ever since our parents died. Then it shut down, and everyone else either died or ran away. We had to live there ourselves for years until Wakko made that wish and fixed up the town." Yakko looked like he didn't want to talk about it.

Cassie decided to change the subject. "Wow. Sounds like you have a lot of responsibility, taking care of your brother and sister all those years. You must really love them, huh?"

"Yeah, I do." He said it without any hesitation or embarrassment. Cassie had only ever heard of people fighting with their siblings. They called them annoying and obnoxious and spoiled brats, sometimes. Wow, Cassie thought. Maybe there was a whole other loving-brother side to Yakko she hadn't seen there before. Yakko. That was a cool name. Cassie held onto it like a leaf to a tree branch. Yeah. Yakko Warner. Maybe this guy wasn't such a jerk after all.

"I only wish I had brothers or sisters. I don't even have a mom or dad anymore, either."

Whoa. Personal information alert. He doesn't need your life story.

But Yakko seemed confused. "You don't? What happened?"

"Well, I don't exactly know what happened to my mom. My dad never told me. He was kind of crazy and- well, he… He would…"

"What's that?" Yakko interrupted, pointing to where Cassie's sleeve had fallen a little over her right shoulder. There were great red welts and dark scars just peeking out.

"Well, that's just it. He would, er… beat me a little. It doesn't really-"

"What?"

"Not… that much, but-"

"Are you crazy? Was he crazy? That's terrible!" Yakko looked horrified. Maybe suddenly, his old sad situation didn't seem so bad anymore.

"It's not that bad, really. Just kind of stings from time to time." Cassie pulled down her sleeve a little more to reveal more scars and marks.

"You can touch it, if you want to." She turned around with her back facing him. Silence.

Where the heck did that come from? He doesn't want to touch your disgusting scars! Stupid, stupid, stupid.

But Cassie was surprised when she felt Yakko's gloved hand gently brush her back. She felt her spine tingle and her shoulder twitched. She quickly turned around and sat down before she started to shiver or something. Yakko sat back down as well.

"I-I'm sorry he did that to you. It was wrong." Yakko had a pained expression.

"It's no biggie." Cassie didn't feel comfortable talking about it. In fact, she'd never told anyone else in her life. It felt great to get it off her chest. She still couldn't believe that she hadn't even told-

"Hey, I think should introduce you to Mr. Harrison, my boss. Well, actually, my guardian. He's been dying to meet you!"

….

"Why, who is this, lass?"

It was the old guy in the tweed jacket. With an Irish accent. Oh, God.

"This is Yakko. You know, the oldest of the Warner siblings." Cassie explained.

Harrison pushed his glasses up his nose and squinted to get a better look. Then his face lit up.

"Oh, aye, the king! Well, it be a pleasure to meet you on such a fine day!" He shook Yakko's hand vigorously. "You've been enjoying the books here, I'm sure?"

"Yes, sir." Yakko tried to put on a smile. Cassie looked down, turning bright pink.

"Oh, no need to call me sir, laddie. You're welcome here anytime, anytime at all. Cassie, girl, what did you do to your hand?"

Cassie looked down at the bandages and quickly hid her hands behind her back.

"Someone stepped on it when I was fixing the heater." Wow, she was a good liar, too. And she was lying for what he did…

"I see." Harrison wasn't buying it. Yakko thought fast.

"Hey, I almost forgot, Wakko's birthday is tomorrow night, at the castle. He's turning nine. The whole town is going to be there. You guys should come."

Cassie's looked exited. However, Harrison raised his eyebrows.

"A party? Really?"

"You sound like you've never been to one." Yakko said.

"I haven't." But then Cassie's face fell. "Oh, crap, I just remembered. I'd really love to go but I'm working here for all of tonight and tomorrow. There's no way I can make it, there's too much-"

Harrison intervened, "What are ya talkin' about, lassie, o' course you can go!" That hadn't been what Yakko was expecting at all, but he was glad Cassie was coming. "I'll finish up around here for you." He turned to Yakko.

"The whole town will be there, you say?"

"Sure, it's an open invite, anyone can come." Yakko answered.

"Great, I'll be there," Cassie grinned.

"See ya, then!" Yakko walked over and pulled the door open.

"Bye," Cassie waved in a cute way, even with her injured hand.

Yakko walked out and stepped onto the street. Somehow, it seemed a lot more beautiful than it had been since he had walked in.

…

"Thanks Uncle T." Cassie hugged her guardian around the waist. "I can't believe I'm gonna go to an actual party! Oh my gosh, I have to pick something out to wear!" Cassie grabbed her purse from under the table and ran through the back room and up the stairway to her bedroom.

Harrison smiled. Everything was perfect. Everything.

**Oh gosh, I hope that wasn't too cheesy. If it was, I apologize. Hopefully you liked this chapter the best so far. Hey girls, how many of you out there would to be in Cassie's shoes? I know I would. ;D Anyway, considering that this chapter was mostly about Yakko and Cassie, I think most of you are wondering what Wakko and Dot are doing right now. Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Stuff like accidentally knocking 15 foot statues to the ground, Wakko eating the national cheese fountain, getting chased by Ralph the guard, the normal stuff. Well if you're eager to hear more and you liked the story, review (seriously, do it. You know you want to). And stick around- better things to come.**

**Animania123**


	4. Surprise!

**Hey all my beloved readers! Missed you and thanks for all the reviews; I'd be nowhere without them. Okay, enjoy the following!**

**Chapter 3- Surprise!**

"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Brain yelled over the music.

"Well, I think so, Brain. But balancing a family, and a career, ooh, it's all too much for me." Pinky said skeptically.

Brain picked up a fallen corn dog and hit Pinky on the head with it.

"NARF! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Pinky laughed.

It seemed like everyone in town had turned up for Wakko's ninth birthday party. Everyone had brought a present (they were mostly food) and they were all dancing in the main ballroom that had been decorated to look like a dance floor.

Wakko was already at the present table, sorting through the fourth pile. He'd already inhaled most of the buffet, snack tables, and eaten the entire cheese fountain. And yet he was still hungry. But that was totally normal. And, come on, it was his birthday! Time to eat until he passed out.

Wakko tore through a blue and green-wrapped present and found a box of cupcakes. Score! He opened the package and tipped them all into his mouth, belching. He smacked his lips.

"Hmmm… not enough frosting" he said.

He started to open another present, but he was grabbed around the stomach by two surprisingly strong arms, which tightened and started to crack his spine. Wakko choked and spit out a cupcake or two before wrestling his attacker and turning around to see who it was.

"Hey, get off!" Wakko struggled around to look.

_Oh no. _

"Wakkiiiiiiii! Where were you this evening, I was so worried! And why didn't you return my messages? Wakki? HELLO? "

It was Brianna, the frizzy-haired, hearing-impaired, Wakko-obsessed freak 7 year old fan girl who wouldn't stop following him around all the time. She seriously needed a hearing aide, but she refused to get one. And she was a stalker. The only way you could get rid of her was… well, you couldn't, exactly.

"Brianna, I've told you a million times, it's not Wakki, it's Wakk-O!" _As in O-my-gosh, why can't you just leave me alone!_

Brianna was still squeezing the life out of him. "But I don't like Jell-O! Wakki, are you gonna dance with me? You promised you would. You did, you promised, on Thursday, remember?" Brianna whined.

Wakko rolled his eyes. He'd said he'd sue he_r pants_ off if she didn't leave him alone, not that's he'd dance with her.

"Brianna. I. Will. Never. Dance. With. You. Ever." Wakko wriggled out of her arms and stood his ground.

Brianna's eyes welled up and she sniffled.

"But you promised!" she wailed

Wakko frowned. Yeah, she was super annoying and a bit of a crybaby- well, a LOT of a crybaby. But nobody really even talked with her, much less had wanted to dance with her. Wakko slapped a hand over his face.

"I'll do it. But I'll probably hate myself in the morning," he said as Brianna squealed and dragged him onto the dance floor, Wakko leaving a trail of nail marks in his wake.

….

"Ha ha ha ha! Josh, I swear, you are soooo funny! If I had a nickel for every time you-"

"Dot. Earth to Dot. Are you even listening to me?"

Dot ignored her brother's voice. Did he really need something right now? Yakko just couldn't shut up sometimes. Especially when she was flirting with two super gorgeous hunks when she was in a pretty dress, at party. Besides, he was probably just going to tell her that a group of supermodels were having a limbo contest by the punch bowl.

"So, anyway, what time is your-"

"Dot!" Yakko had had enough, apparently. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the guys.

"What? In case you didn't notice, I was just about to get invited to a super-cool _high school_ party next Friday night; lest you forget, Yakko: It's kind of a big deal." Dot crossed her arms and glared up at her smirking brother.

"Dot, don't give me that. You're too young to go to a high school party anyways."

"Says you! And you aren't old enough either, Yakko. You're barely old enough to chase after all the girls you do. But that never stopped you."

Yakko looked down at his feet and dismissed the subject.

"Just forget about that. Hey, have you seen a girl with-"

Dot was already walking away.

"Hey, wait!"

Dot sighed and turned around.

"Yakko. This is what's NOT going to happen. I'm not going to help you scope out some girl you saw. You're _not _going to chase her around and quite possibly make her call the cops. You're _not_ going to embarrass me again and make me explain the situation to her parents. And you're definitely not going to ask her for her phone number while she'd getting into her car to get as far away from you as possible. End of discussion." Dot turned on her heel and flounced away.

_Who does he think he is? He can't baby ME forever while he stalks girls twice his age and goes wherever he wants whenever he wants. I may be seven, but I'm _not _a little kid anymore. Sometimes I wonder who the adult here is._

Dot braced herself for the scolding, but it never came. She didn't look back, though. Yakko'd probably gone to find her himself.

"Joshie?" Dot had returned to their spot, but the two senior boys were already gone.

_I am so gonna kill my brother…_

"Where are all the loyal guys when you need them?" she said.

"Tell me about it." Said someone next to her.

Dot looked and saw a lanky brunette in a red tank top and shorts next to her, eating a cookie.

"I know right? My brother just ruined my chances of getting into a cool party- with senior boys!" Dot pouted.

The girl laughed and tossed back her hair. "Aren't you a little young to be thinking about parties and boys?"

Dot rolled her eyes. "Great. You're just like him."

"Well, don't get me wrong- hot guys are hard to find these days. But you look really cute, you'll get one in a heartbeat."

"Now you're speaking my language!" Dot smiled and struck a pose.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "What language?"

Dot thought for a minute. "Cuteish. I happen to be very fluent in it."

The girl laughed again. "That's for sure."

"Yep. Some girls got it; some girls don't. So, what's your name, sweetheart?" Dot hopped onto a chair behind her and adjusted her flower.

"It's Cassie." She sat down next to Dot.

"Cool. I've always liked that name," Dot grinned.

"Yeah, I guess it's cool. I just wish guys would think I'm cool," Cassie frowned.

"Don't we all?" Dot said. "The only guys I hang around with are my semi-idiotic brothers. And they're usually ruining my chances. But you gotta admit- I do make up for it in cuteness!" Dot grinned.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't do very well at that, though. I just get nervous when I talk to-"

Dot stopped her midsentence. "Hold on, sister. It's time you were learned in the art of flirting. First of all, _you_ are the trainer, and the boy is your dog. You're in charge, and you rule with an iron fist. But be sweet. Compliment him. Expect compliments back. Talk about yourself, listen to him. It's a wonderful circle of life." Dot finished with a smile.

Cassie finished her cookie. "Huh. I didn't know it took that much."

Dot patted her on the back. "It's never too late to start learning, honey. And the best way is practice!" She jumped out of her seat and grabbed Cassie's hands.

"No way! I can't-"

"You can."

Dot cocked an ear to the blasting music. It was Katy Perry's_ Extraterrestrial_.

_Boy, you're an alien._

_Your touch so foreign._

_It's supernatural, extraterrestrial._

"Good song, check." She muttered.

Then she skimmed the crowd for a boy.

"Hmmm… ew, gross! No…no… oh, maybe. Ooh, I'll save that one for later." Dot found a lonely looking blonde at the snack table. "There you go," she said.

"Dot, please, I really don't want to. What if he doesn't like me?" Cassie asked while Dot dragged her by the hand towards the guy.

"Then it'll be his loss." She said absentmindedly. She was going to get this girl a date if it killed her. And who knew, maybe Cassie and Dot would become best girlfriends. She could go with her to the movies, the mall, and the spa, without Yakko or Wakko having to be lugged along. They could have sleepovers, and talk on the phone all night and tell each other secrets all the time. Heck, they could even double date! Dot could see it now.

She wouldn't have to ask Yakko before she went to go buy a piece of gum or something. And with an older friend like Cassie, he'd see she really _was_ mature enough to do whatever she wanted.

_I'm not a child. And even if my brothers think I am, that's all about to change._

….

"Dot, please!" Cassie was still being dragged against her will to make a move on some guy she didn't even know.

_I think she's crazy. I can't even say anything funny to the gardener, much less get a date with this guy. And after that thing in the bookstore, I think I need to stay away from boys for a while._

Dot stopped and pushed her towards the blonde boy. "Go! Say something!" she hissed.

_Easy for you to say. _Cassie thought as she rubbed her wrist but winced when she accidentally used her bandaged hand.

_How do I keep forgetting? They're always throbbing, all the time!_

Then she remembered how they had gotten that way. She could still see Yakko's stunned expression.

_Hey, where is that little weirdo? I completely forgot he was the one who invited me. I should at least go say hi or something. _He's_ the guy I should be talking to, not this dude. _

Cassie turned and started to walk in the other direction. Dot gave a confused look and ran ahead of her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To find your brother." Cassie glanced over her shoulder, scanning the crowd.

"Wakko? Why would you want to find him? He's disgusting! And he'd probably jump on you and give you a kiss as soon as you looked at him. In case you haven't noticed, he's a real perv." Dot could see him now; drooling in the arms of a teenage girl.

"Well, actually, I'm looking for your other brother. The taller one."

"Same thing for him. The only difference between them is that Yakko can't shut his mouth for more than five consecutive seconds and Wakko barely talks at all. He's mostly stuffing his face with snacks. And don't _even_ get me started on his burping. It's deeeeestgusting! This one time-"

Soon, they were both sitting down on chairs again. Dot was going into this whole rant about her brothers. But Cassie wasn't really listening. All she had to do was nod and say "Uh-huh" or "Sure" every time Dot paused. She caught words like "gross" and "immature" here and there. Finally, though, it seemed Dot was done after she finished with, "Yeah. I've told him like, a million times, but I guess he'll never learn that no one cares about a song that lists all the nations of the world. Maybe someday he'll finally stop showing off. "

"Mm-hmm."

"Hey, Cass- can I call you Cass? What happened to your hand?" Dot pointed to the bandages and Cassie blinked.

"Um, someone accidentally smashed it in a door at the bookshop where I work. You can imagine my delight." Cassie let her peek at the bruises.

"Ouch! Who did that?"

"Just some guy." Cassie shrugged. After that long speech about her brothers, there was no way she was letting Dot know who "just some guy" really was.

"Oh. Well whoever it was must be a complete idiot. I mean, look at that! Why did he have to slam it so hard?"

Before Cassie could make up an answer, someone yelled something behind them, and they both turned around.

"Dot! Don't let her catch me! She wants to kiss me!" It was Wakko. He jumped clear over their heads and curled into a ball at their feet. "I'm not here," he whispered before grabbing Cassie's knees and peeking behind them to see if he was still being followed.

"Dot, not to be rude, but why is your brother hanging onto my legs?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Dot looked behind her. "Uh-oh. It's Brianna. I'm outie." Dot jumped up and tried to nonchalantly stroll away.

"Dot!" Cassie yelled. But she was already gone. Then she bent down to get a look at the shaking kid who was gripping her ankles. He looked up and gaped at her.

"Hellooooooo nurse! Who are you?" he asked, completely forgetting that he was in hiding.

Cassie ignored that. "Um, Wakko, is it? I think whoever you're running from would be a lot happier if they found you hiding somewhere else than on me."

Suddenly, a chubby, frizzy haired girl came to a slow stop in front of them, panting, as if even running the last couple feet had exhausted her.

"Wakki? What are you doing with another girl? You said you were gonna kiss _me_!" she yelled. Cassie could've sworn she was screaming louder than the music. She put her hands up to her ears.

"Brianna, I'm not with her!" he said. Then he jumped into her arms. "Although I'd like to be," he said, giving her a smile.

"Okay, stop! What's going on here?" Cassie put Wakko down. Brianna grabbed him and held him in a bone crushing hug.

"Wakki and I are together now. So you'd better back off, or I'll snap you like the toothpick you are!" Brianna glared at her.

Wakko looked like he was in pain. "Help me," he whimpered.

Cassie thought. "Hey, Brianna. You know Cody Kohl, right?"

Brianna forgot about looking vicious and nodded frantically. "Yeah! He's in my class at school!" she looked around, and then whispered "I think he's really cute." Wakko looked at her.

"But not as cute as my Wakki!"

"Oh, well, that's too bad. I was just talking with him. He said he thought your hair was looking really nice tonight."

Brianna dropped Wakko, who fell to the floor with a thud, in an instant and stared, wide-eyed.

"Really?"

"Of course! And he desperately wants to meet you. He said he was going to wait for you outside in the courtyard, and he wants to see you there at midnight." Cassie leaned forward and whispered into Brianna's ear. "He brought roses."

That was all she needed to hear.

"Outta my way!" she pushed past Cassie and through a group of laughing teens and ran shrieking joyfully out the door.

Wakko got up, dusting himself off. "How did you do that?"

"Ah, I saw him come in to the place where I work. He really hates her. Heard him talking about her with his friends." Cassie shook her head. "Poor kid won't know what hit him when she finds out he stood her up."

Wakko laughed. "Thanks. I was beginning to think I was never going to breathe again."

"Yep. I also do bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, and baby showers." Cassie joked.

"Yeah, well, you gotta teach me or something, 'cause I-" Wakko was cut off by someone walking toward them.

"Hey, bookworm, I thought you were never gonna show."

….

"Yakko?" Cassie turned around.

"The one and only. Hey, you met Wakko, already. No offense, but I didn't think you were much of a social butterfly. What have you been doing this entire time?" Yakko walked up to them and saw Cassie twisting a strand of hair and Wakko licking cheese off of his finger.

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think I just got rid of some Brianna person for Wakko, if that's supposed to be a big accomplishment." Cassie shrugged.

"Trust me, it is. Even Yakko can't get rid of her sometimes." Wakko seemed to shudder when he thought about her.

"And speaking of annoying young females, where's Dot? She was just recently yelling at me for trying to be a people person, and then stormed away." Yakko said innocently.

"She just went AWOL when she heard Brianna was coming, and I don't blame her." Wakko answered.

"Actually, she and I just met. She said some… interesting things about you guys." Cassie said. The boys looked at each other. "Some things were better than others."

"Don't believe anything she says," Wakko warned. "Some things may be true, but loyal, trustworthy men like us are not thieves or scoundrels like she may have described us. We fight for what we believe in! Our dreams become reality! We are the future!"

Yakko looked at Cassie and said to his brother, "Wakko, you've been watching _America: the story of us _again, haven't you?"

"It's inspirational!" He said defensively while Cassie giggled. "And it was really cheap online."

Suddenly, as if a comet had struck the castle, there was a sudden _boom_ heard overhead, and the whole room shook like a volcano about to erupt. Most people were thrown off their feet and onto the floor, including Yakko, Wakko and Cassie. The lights flickered and then went out. People screamed and ran around looking for a way out, but it seemed like all the doors had been locked. There was another boom as something struck the castle again, and this time, everyone could see why.

A giant hole was ripped through the ceiling, and bricks came raining down with wood and debris. The full moon shone through the rip and shed some light on the confused and scared subjects of the town. A big wooden object was seen being brought up, then down, down, down, until it hit the castle, blowing out the walls like dynamite. It was a gigantic club. And what was holding the club was even more terrifying.

It was a giant. And only now did Yakko understand why they called them giants. He was huge. To him, the entire castle must've looked like a small-sized picnic table, and the people like tasty morsels he was about to swallow. He was big and green, like an ogre, and he had cracked, yellow, teeth like he'd never had a check up at the dentist in his life. And he wasn't exactly a good looking guy at all. All he wore brown pants, but even though he looked silly, he still looked terrifying.

The giant brought down his club again, and smacked the side of the castle, destroying and ripping through the banner that said "Happy Birthday!" and the whole stage that the band had been playing on.

People started screaming again and panic ensued. The giant threw back his hideous face and let out a loud, deep laugh, like this was just all just a fun little game to him. Lights came crashing down and one sparked and caught the streamers on fire. It only made it worse. The giant brought blow after blow upon the castle, and the people screamed more.

Wakko grabbed onto his brother and yelled over the screaming, "Yakko, we've got to find Dot and get out of here!" Yakko snapped out of it, and grabbed Cassie's hand, who was also staring at the beast.

"Come on!" he yelled. She quickly scrambled to her feet and the three of them ran, through the shoving crowd, and amid the helpless screams. They called Dot's name, but there was no way she could have heard them, over the yelling and the crashes and bangs of the giant's club. Yakko, Wakko and Cassie screamed and searched but it was no use. Dot was nowhere to be found.

**Scary! Will they ever find Dot and escape the giant's wrath? You'll have to bear with me and see. Review please and remember, I love you all! Thanks for sticking with me this far. It's all uphill (or in the Warner's case, downhill) from here :)**


	5. Decisions

**Hey again! So I'm typing to you guys with a gigantic mountain of homework sitting next to me, and I really know I should be doing it, but you guys are hungry for more so I have to oblige. But if I fail English, it's on all of your heads! Haha JK. Ok here goes!**

**Chapter 4 – Decisions**

_Boom!_ The blows to the castle were becoming worse and worse. More destruction and debris came falling down upon the panicking crowd.

"Dot!" Yakko cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed his sister's name as people pushed past him in a manner of desperation. "Dot! Dot!"

Wakko and Cassie were holding his hands on either side of him to stay together. They turned their heads this way and that, but there were too many people.

Yakko felt a lump in his throat and tears were threatening again. He tried to suppress them. He couldn't break down now. Right now he needed to be the older brother. He said it over and over again in his head. _We're gonna find her. We're gonna find her._

There was no way for anyone to get out. The doors weren't opening, and the windows had somehow been permanently locked. Some people hid behind corners or pillars while others just stayed with their families, huddled together in fright. There was nowhere to go, nothing to do but stay there and wait for the giant ogre-like creature to destroy the castle where it stood.

Yakko looked up at the giant's club. It was coming down, towards them, fast. He quickly yanked his brother and Cassie out of the way just in time for the huge weapon to demolish the floor where they had been standing a moment ago.

They took off running in the other direction.

"We have to find a way out!" Cassie screamed.

"No! We have to find Dot!" Wakko yelled. "She has to be around here somewhere!" They stopped running next to a window- they were all out of breath.

Yakko looked outside across the tips of houses and buildings, through the glass and was horrified at what he saw. There were people, soldiers, by the looks of them, marching in by the thousands. And there must have been more. He could see fires starting in multiple houses and beginning to spread, dark figures throwing rocks at windows, people knocking over wooden carriages. Yakko gritted his teeth. They were trashing Acme Falls right before his eyes, and he couldn't do a thing about it.

And what freaked him most was that almost all of the army was gathering around the entrance to the castle. They were barricading the doors so that no one could get out. Yakko realized.

Acme Falls was under attack.

Then Yakko heard something. He turned towards the screaming crowd and listened to someone calling his name, calling for help. Without thinking, he rushed into the mass of people and pushed through, trying to get to the source. Cassie and Wakko yelled after him, but he didn't care. He had to find out. Could it be?

It was. Dot was at the main door, trying to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. After a few more futile shoves and heaves she simply gave up and cried. Then she spotted her brother squeezing between Scratchensniff and Hello Nurse (he restrained himself from looking at her with a lot of effort).

"Yakko!" Dot looked as relieved as Yakko felt. Yakko ran to Dot and kneeled down, putting his arms around her. _She's okay. She's okay._

Dot hugged her brother tightly and completely broke down, sobbing hysterically. She'd never cried like this before.

"Dot, it's okay. It's okay, I'm here," Yakko tried to calm her down, along with his own heart, which was still beating like he'd just ran a marathon. "Come on, we have to move."

He took her hand and led her back to the window where his brother and Cassie were waiting furiously. But when they saw Dot, they forgot about being mad and were glad that she was safe.

Wakko even hugged Dot, probably for the first time in weeks. Yakko waited for them to finish and then bent down to his sibs and whispered, "We have to get to the passageway. Now."

They both looked up at him in surprise. "You mean-"

"Yes. Now, let's go before it's too late." With that, they all started to make their way through the door to the closet.

"Wait! What's going on? What are you talking about?" Cassie looked at them in confusion.

"Just come on! We'll explain later." Yakko grabbed her hand and they slipped inside the dark and stuffy closet, which actually didn't seem to be a closet at all. It was a staircase. The four of them silently ran down the stairs, two at once, the screams and booming echoes becoming more and more distant. The staircase suddenly stopped and spread into a hallway.

"Where are we going?" Cassie hissed, but no one replied. After several minutes of walking down hallways that seemed to never end, turning corners and passing other doors, they stopped.

"Here it is," said Wakko. He reached up, pulling a latch, and opened an overhead trapdoor. Moonlight flooded in, showing the room above for what it was- an old wooden house.

"Where are we?" Cassie said finally.

"It's the old watertower. The orphanage where we used to live."

"Any reason why you have a secret passageway in your castle leading to it?" Cassie crossed her arms. She seemed kind of upset that they weren't cluing her in.

"Well, when Salazar took over the kingdom, he realized he still had to deal with us." Yakko explained while he gave Dot a boost up out of the trap door. "Our parents were the king and queen of Acme Falls and we were next in line. So he had this passageway built so he could smuggle us out of the castle and no one would ever know that the throne really belonged to us."

"And when we found it, we decided to use it as a sort of safehouse in case anything went wrong." Wakko said as he climbed out of the doorway. "But mostly I've been using it to store all my snacks."

Sure enough, when Yakko poked his head through, all over the room, there were piles and piles of bags of chips, bottles of soda and just about every other snack food imaginable.

"Wakko, didn't I tell you not to go overboard?" he said.

"What? I _was_ going to bring a giant bag of carrots and veggies and a bunch of healthy stuff. Now _that _would have been going overboard."

Yakko shook his head and climbed out of the trapdoor. He stuck out his hand to help Cassie up but she waved it away and got herself out.

_Girls. Go fig._

Yakko pushed himself up from the floorboards and looked around.

"Huh. It seems a lot smaller than it was, doesn't it?" he remarked.

It was still broken down and more damaged than ever. The walls were cracked and so were the windows, the wind whistling through them, creating an eerie noise. The ceiling was leaking like it always had, and it was still half complete, letting the stars and moon shine through.

"Maybe that's because Wakko squeezed half a movie theatre concessions stand in here." said Dot, who was sitting on her old straw bed, staring up her brother, smiling.

Yakko remembered the feeling of panic he'd had only minutes ago. "Dot… where were you back there at the castle? Why didn't you stay where you were?"

Dot's look of amusement was replaced by fear. She looked down and her eyes filled with tears again. "I- I don't know. I was scared, but I thought I could handle it myself. I tried to go for the doors but they wouldn't open. And then…" she sobbed. "I gave up. I thought I was never going to see you guys again."

"Dot, it's okay. We're all safe here. Just don't ever-"

"Yakko?" Wakko said. "What was that? That… thing attacking the castle?" Wakko jumped down on his bed with a questioning look. Cassie sat down next to him, looking like she wanted an answer too.

"I… I don't know." Yakko truly didn't. It felt weird, not knowing things. He usually knew the answer to just about anything. But all he needed to know was that whatever that was back there had wanted to destroy them. No ifs ands or buts. There had to be someone that was in charge of this attack, and Yakko wanted to know who. Thinking about it, something tugged at the back of his mind, something he knew he was supposed to remember.

"Well, we have to do something about it! We can't just let it take over without a fight." Cassie interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh, did you see the size of that thing? He makes Godzilla look like a Care Bear." Yakko said.

"Okay, I get it, he's big. But there must be something we can do. Anything." Cassie looked down, thinking, but showed no signs of an idea.

Dot sniffed. "She's right. We can't just abandon all those people. Listen to that." She gestured towards the castle, which could still be heard being blown apart, screams and shouts dissolving into the night.

Wakko looked down. "You don't think… we did the wrong thing? Leaving them?" he said.

No one spoke. Escaping had seemed dire at the time, but now the guilt was so palpable it was almost looming above their heads.

There were sudden noises outside. They all turned their heads towards the door, where shadows were getting closer and closer, footsteps and voices drawing near. Yakko made a motion indicating for everyone to be quiet, and then he pointed to the trapdoor. They all tried to scramble inside it without making the slightest noise, and once inside, Wakko snapped the floorboard over their heads just as the door burst open.

They all huddled in the dark, listening to what sounded like, judging by the footsteps, two people entering the room.

"You see anything?" a low voice asked.

Yakko looked through a crack in the wood. There were two men standing there, armed with guns. They were wearing a weird uniform… one that had a symbol of a clock emblazoned on the front.

"Nothing. I told you they wouldn't be here. What makes you think they would come back to this old dump?" a higher voice was speaking now, with a mocking tone. Dot balled her fists in anger when she heard whoever it was call their home a dump. Yakko put a hand on her shoulder. He was mad too, but they couldn't afford to blow their cover.

"What the heck is with all these snacks?" Everyone heard Low Voice picking up a chip bag. Wakko pulled out his mallet, looking like he was ready to knock someone's brains loose. Everyone in Acme Falls knew- you didn't take Wakko's snacks.

"Let's leave. They aren't here. They've probably already fled the country, leaving their precious kingdom behind." Higher voice was walking around, kicking at things. He got closer to the trapdoor, and it made a creaking sound, but the two men didn't seem to notice. Someone threw the chip bag wich slid right over the crack, blocking Yakko's view.

"I can see why they'd leave. This whole place is a disgusting hellhole, by the looks of it. I'd jump at any chance to get out of here." Lower voice said. The two men laughed stupidly. Dot opened her mouth to yell, but Yakko slapped a hand over her face, giving her a warning look that meant _don't you dare._ The creaks were getting louder and louder as the men walked closer. If they were discovered now, who knows what would happen to them? Why couldn't they just leave…

"Yep. Old Grog is doing the place a favor, destroying that ugly castle. It needed some improvements."

_Grog? Are they talking about that giant? Are they working with him? Who the heck are these people?_

"Well, whatever, they're not here. Must've gone, like you said. The queen will be happy, anyway. Everything's gone according to plan."

_What queen?_ They all exchanged looks, and seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"We'd better get back or Griselda'll flay us alive." The footsteps finally started to move away from the trapdoor, towards the way out. Yakko almost breathed a sigh of relief but caught himself at the last minute.

"Yeah. You know, it'd be nice to not have to worry about getting blasted if you don't do exactly what she says once in a while. Remember when old Steve screwed up?" Lower Voice seemed to shudder at the memory.

"What? No. Has that been where he's been off to all this time?" Higher voice asked.

Even though he couldn't see him, Yakko almost knew that Lower voice was rolling his eyes. "Yes! Don't you remember? It was his job to run after that kid that ran off with the jewel. But he couldn't find them. Lost his way and let them escape."

A faint light started to glow, and when Yakko looked behind him, he saw that it was coming from Cassie's pocket . She saw it glowing and toook out a necklace with some kind of crysatl on it from her pocket.

_What is that? _Dot mouthed. Cassie shook her head and dropped the necklace on the ground and coverd it up with her shoe.

Lower Voice continued. "When he got back, Griselda was furious. Absolutely barking mad. She called him a disgrace to the Ticktockian force. Said he didn't deserve to work under her name. Then she disintegrated him right on the spot." Lower Voice snapped his fingers. "Just like that."

"Oh. Poor Steve. I don't think he really _meant_ to do that, did he?" Higher Voice was confused.

"Doesn't matter. That jewel was the key to carrying out her plan. That's why she's waited this long. Of course we couldn't pass up an opportunity like this! She was getting ready for this attack. And now that we have Acme Falls, we have total control. All we need is the Warners. And we'll be ready when they come."

And that's when it all hit him. Yakko understood. _They're from Ticktockia. They're trying to take over Acme Falls. And Griselda is their leader. _

Yakko almost didn't hear the two soldiers leaving the room. All he could think about was how they had said that they needed them. He and his brother and sister. With them under their control there was no stopping them. They could take over the country. They could take over the world.

"Yakko." Wakko was tugging on is brother's arm. "They're gone. We can get out now."

Yakko blinked and undid the latch and opened the door. Everyone climbed out and sat down on the beds. They said nothing, like they didn't know what to make of what they had just heard.

"We can't let them do this. We can't." Dot stood up with a look of anger. "This is our land, _our home. _I don't know about you guys, but I'm not gonna take this sitting down!"

Still no one said anything. Yakko didn't disagree with her, but he had no idea what to do. His mind was just blank, thinking of nothing but fear. But there was something else. One thought kept tugging at his mind, about the object that the guards were talking about the day before at the castle. It had something to do with this, he knew it. But even if something like that existed, where could it be?

"Well?" Dot was waiting. "Let's go."

"What do you mean, let's go?" Wakko snapped. "We're all trapped here, and from what I heard, an entire Ticktockian army is in control. We can't just leave. And where in the world would we go? "

Dot frowned. "I mean, let's go there. Ticktockia. The queen they talked about, she's in control, she's the one who's doing this. If we stop her, we stop the attack. We can get these weirdos out of here. We can save Acme Falls."

Yakko sighed. "Dot, we can't just leave. In case you forgot, we're responsible for this place. If we take off, we leave all of these people behind. And it's way too dangerous."

"But Yakko. Don't you see? The only way we're going to fix this is if we take out the problem at its source." Dot walked over and took her brother's hand. "It's the right thing to do."

Yakko looked around. Dot was staring at him, pleading with those big eyes of hers. Wakko now looked determined, his mallet ready for action at his side. Cassie caught his eye and gave him a look that meant _she's right._ Well, this was it. No turning back.

Yakko stood up. "Okay. Let's go."

**Awww brother-sister moments there! Don't you just love the Warner's special bond? Obviously, I do. Wow this chapter was tough. I was so indecisive on exactly what to write (ironic, since the chapter's name is Decisions.) and I had a hard time trying to come up with dialogue. Oh well, hope you liked it just the same :) see you next time**


	6. Taking the plunge

**In the words of William Shakespeare: I'M BORED! This whole weekend has been nothing but a big fat glop of boredom, so I figured I might as well write to pass the time. And thanks to weirdsib, I did get my homework done,**_** and **_**I passed my test! Sorry if that was completely random. Okay, chapter five. Here ya go.**

**Chapter 5- Taking the Plunge**

_It was cold. Too cold to even think about getting warm. The man's only motive was to deliver the message he was sent to convey. It was of the utmost importance and he was told that the queen did not like to be kept waiting._

_More piercing wind sliced across his face and rain cut through his skin like needles as he whipped his black stallion again and again, trying to spot the fortress where Griselda subsided. The mist was too thick to see through, and the storm wasn't helping improve his visibility. The menacing trees were already bare and brittle, even though the fall solstice had not yet passed. Here, it was rumored, it was always winter, cold and hard, like the queen herself._

_Finally, two black towers poked through the fog and the man saw the outline of the castle slowly reveal itself. He was here._

_Once inside, it seemed even colder through the long, dark halls than outside in the pouring rain. The man shuddered at the horrid décor. Ugly tapestries depicting brutal wars and cruel punishments to civilians who had not obeyed commands, rusty suits of amour holding dangerous and lethal-looking weapons, a rug the color of blood. There was almost no light except for the faint glow of the chandelier up on the pitch-black celling. There was no doubt about it. This place just reeked of evil._

_His footsteps echoed down the stone hall. Did this place ever end? Finally, he came to a large chamber, dark and intimidating, made completely out of stone, with a black staircase leading up to another room. In the center, there was a tall and malicious throne, and in it a smirking woman, stroking a scrimpy looking ebony bird._

_The woman was robed in silver, and her long, brown hair and piercing-blue eyes almost made her seem normal. But her face was draped with a look of loathing and superiority. The bird that she held looked almost just like her, but the raven seemed more like a little snitch, a snotty tattle-tale. And that's exactly what he was._

_The shaking man kneeled before his queen. _

"_My lady," he gasped- he was still numb from the storm._

"_Nicholas," The woman purred. "What news do you have for me?"_

"_The attack was a success. The entire kingdom is secured. All except for-"_

_Griselda interrupted him. "Except for what?"_

_The man gulped. "The Warners, your highness. They have disappeared."_

_Nicholas shrank back slightly. He expected her to scream in rage, but instead Griselda laughed and said something to the raven, who flew up, through the window, and into the mist._

"_Your…your highness?" the man asked nervously._

_Griselda rose from her throne and descended the steps towards the man, who was now shaking worse than ever._

"_My dear Nicholas, why do you think I need the Warners? What part could they possibly play in this devious little plan of mine?" the queen was striding slowly around the man, who noticed that she was moving her hands in a sort of weird motion. Like she was fingering something that wasn't there._

_The queen suddenly dropped her seductive tone. "Well?" she snapped._

"_I… don't know," he stammered. _

"_They are the key to my plan because as you may not know, there is another person missing from Acme Falls."_

_The man stuttered again. "But- another one? But we made sure-" _

"_You overlooked one detail. You must have missed something. Because I know it is certain that the Warners are traveling here, right now, with none other than Cassidy Bennett at their side. They plan to come here and stop me from taking over their pathetic little village." Griselda laughed. "I will crush them all like the annoying pests they are."_

_Nicholas looked confused. "If I may ask, who is this Cassidy Bennett- the girl you mentioned?" He regretted asking it the minute he spoke. Griselda looked furious, but then she caught herself before exploding him the spot. She turned around and looked away, beginning to finger the thing that wasn't there at her side._

"_She is no one. A peasant, at the most. It matters not." The queen dismissed the subject. "What does matter is that the Warners are coming. I have sent Zenith to track their every move until they arrive. And when they do, we must be ready to take back what is rightfully mine."_

"_Zenith?"_

"_The bird, you imbecile, the bird! He is following them, at this very moment." Griselda looked angry again. "But I do not have the best confidence that they will make it here. After all, it was quite a perilous journey here, was it not?" the queen turned to Nicholas once again, but she gave him no chance to reply._

"_I'm sure. So just in case they try to abandon their kingdom, and try to run away like fools, I have sent an army after them to make sure that they stay on the right track. Or maybe even kill the Warners for me and bring me that girl. I don't care. So long as I get what I want." Griselda climbed the stairs and sat upon her throne, again._

"_And speaking of getting what I want." The queen gave the shivering Nicholas a piercing look with her icy eyes. _

"_My- my queen?"_

"_I'm sorry Nicholas. But I like having my information delivered on time, if you know what I mean. And seeing as you are incapable of doing so, I'm afraid that you are of no further use to me." Griselda raised her hand into the air. _

_Nicholas edged back towards the door, pointlessly. "No, no please!"_

_The queen fixed him with her death stare, chilling him to the bone and stopping him in his tracks. "Goodbye, Nicholas," she whispered, a soft smile playing at her lips. A burst of blue light filled the room._

_Nicholas's scream wasn't enough to describe the pain he felt. He hit the floor in an instant, dead._

_Griselda lowered her hand and smiled. It was too easy._

…_._

Yakko burst through the door when he checked to make sure the coast was clear. His siblings and Cassie quietly followed him, slipping through the city, past the burning houses and shops. The town was silent except for the crackle of the fires and the screams from the castle. Yakko kept looking back to make sure everyone was there.

_Okay. So far, so good._

Finally, they made it to the stables.

Dot held her nose. "Gross! It smells like Wakko in here, but ten times worse!" she whispered, dodging a punch from her brother.

"Not the time or place, Dot." Yakko said as he unlocked the door to Pharfignewton's stable. Pharfignewton whinnied nervously when he approached her.

"C'mon, girl, what's wrong?" Yakko tried to pet the horse on the forehead, but she neighed even louder and backed away. "What is it?"

Dot rolled her eyes. "Gee, I don't know Yakko, maybe all the fires and screams and noises from the castle are startling her," she said. "But I'm no veterinarian."

Wakko looked impressed. "Wow, Dot, you're as bad as Yakko is."

Cassie smiled. "Yeah, maybe you're losing your touch."

"No I'm not!" He turned around, but they were snickering already. "Dot's just losing her cuteness and trying to make up for it in lame comebacks."

Dot's face reddened. "Hey! I _never_ lose cuteness!" She took a step forward.

"Oh, silly me. I guess you can't lose what you never had." Yakko smiled and moved out of the way so that Dot missed him by an inch when she leapt at him. She growled like a lion and chased him around the stable. "GET BACK HERE!" She wrestled him to the ground.

"Dot- get-off!"

Cassie shushed them. "Shut up! You want us to get caught?" Dot reluctantly let go of Yakko's ears and got off his chest, muttering something about annoying smart alecks. Yakko gasped for breath.

"One of these days, you're going to permanently damage my rib cage."

"If we're lucky," Dot retorted, ready for another fight.

"Guys, cut it out."

"We have to get Pharfignewton to move, or we'll never get out of here," Wakko reminded them.

"Right. Let me try." Cassie walked slowly towards the horse, who backed away instantly. But she took it slower, muttering soothing words and beckoning Pharfignewton towards her. Finally, the white horse came out of her stall and let them fasten a harness on her.

"How did you do that?" asked Dot as she hopped onto the wooden cart.

"I don't know… animal magnetism." Cassie climbed on and sat next to her.

Wakko hopped onto her lap and gave her a smile. "It's no wonder."

Yakko rolled his eyes. _And they say I'm bad. _The he thought of something.

"Waaaaaaait a minute." Yakko turned to Cassie. "No offense, but who told you that you could come?"

"You did. In the watertower. I gathered that "Let's go" meant everyone in the room." She said. Yakko was taken aback by her boldness. It was almost like staring into a mirror. A weird, gender-flipping mirror. "And who told _you_ that you could be so bossy? Why do _you _always get to make the decisions?"

"Because I'm the oldest." Yakko smirked.

"When's your birthday?"

"February 3rd, 1998."

Cassie smiled. "Oh, well, I'm 13 too. But my birthday's January 14th." Wakko and Dot snickered again. Yakko frowned. This wasn't going like he planned.

"Okay, so you're older than me. But, I mean, seriously. Can you _handle _the dangers of the wild? It's a dangerous world out there. It's eat or be eaten. Survival of the fittest." Yakko sucked in a bunch of air to make his chest look bigger. "And only real men like me can take it." Cassie raised an eyebrow, as if wondering if he was being serious or just kidding around.

"So you're saying that just because I'm a girl, it's too dangerous for me to go? What about Dot? Unless I'm seriously confused, she's a girl, _and_ she's younger than me." Cassie had a point.

"You obviously didn't see her chasing me around the stables like a maniac just now. All we need is for the enemy to insult her cuteness, and she'll be on them like Tom and Jerry."

"Yakko, trust me. I can take care of myself. Living on the streets for three years hasn't been a total loss. You learn to protect yourself." Cassie straightened up. "In fact, I bet I could take you, right here, right now."

Wakko and Dot exchanged _uh-oh _glances. But Yakko just snorted. Sure, she was pretty and all independent and stuff, but could she take him? No way. "You know, I would _love _to see you try."

He hadn't said it for more than two nanoseconds, but the next thing he knew, he was laying on his stomach on the hay-strewn floor, and Cassie was on top of him, holding his arm behind his back.

"You were saying?"

Yakko's voice came out muffled. "I'm having second thoughts."

"Okay then." Cassie got off and helped him up. Yakko couldn't believe it. He'd just been beaten up by a girl. It was like his first grade birthday party all over again.

Yakko slowly trudged back to the carriage. Wakko whispered in his ear, "You're really gonna take that from a _girl?" _

Yakko blinked. Of course not! He was Yakko Warner, for Pete's sake! Yakko stuck out his foot to trip Cassie as she was walking back, but she knew what he was doing even before he did. She wrapped her ankle around his, and in one swift motion, flipped him onto his back. The air was knocked out of his lungs, and his whole body felt battered and bruised. _Thanks Wakko. _He could hear his siblings laughing as he started up at the wooden ceiling.

"Hey Yakko? Was that "Survival of the fittest" or "eat or be eaten?" I'm confused." There was no end to how sarcastic she was. Was this what he was like? Wow, he was really annoying.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You can go. Just help me up, okay? I can't feel my spine."

….

When they had packed food, water, and a tent, they were ready to go.

Yakko held the reins of the cart and hesitated.

"Uh… Anyone know how to start this thing?"

Suddenly two guards bust through the door. They were the two men that had been talking in the watertower earlier.

"Hey! They're in here!" One of them yelled to what must have been more soldiers.

"Um, I think that's our cue!" Cassie said, shaking Yakko's shoulders. "Go!"

Pharfignewton sprang into action, turning to gallop out the back door, but more soldiers blocked their way. Yakko yanked the reins to the left so hard that he would've fallen over in Wakko hadn't caught him at the last second.

Pharfignewton turned on her own accord and burst through the thin wall, sending shards of wood flying. They were surrounded by Ticktockians, all holding guns, and ready to fire. Yakko searched for an opening in the crowd, but it seemed like there was no getting out of this one.

"Anyone got a spare distraction on them?" he whispered.

"Are you _seriously_ going to make jokes at a time like this?" Dot hissed.

Wakko pointed somewhere over all of their heads, towards the castle. "Look!" he shouted. "It's a big fat fanny!"

Of course they all turned their heads to look. "Whoa, dumber than advertised." Dot laughed as they were pulled right over the Ticks, crushing them under the wheels.

"Enjoy the concussions! No charge!" Wakko said, smiling and waving the groaning roadkill that was disappearing behind them. Everyone laughed as they sped across the streets, and towards the gate.

Dot looked back again. "Yakko they're catching up!"

Yakko snapped the reins. "Then we'll have to use evasive maneuvers."

"No way! The last time we did that I ended up in Dot's closet and it took _forever _to get out!" Wakko complained. "Do you _realize_ how many clothes she has? You only wear that pink skirt, anyway!"

Dot stuck up her nose and crossed her arms. "I like to have a variety of choices."

Yakko looked down. "And Wakko, I don't think we'll be going back to the castle-for a while."

"Keep your eyes on the road!" Cassie quickly leaned up and pulled the reins to the right and steered them out of the way of a café. Everyone screamed and ducked as the hanging sign narrowly missed their heads.

"Sorry! Phew, that was cl-"

"Yakko!" Dot was shrieking about how she was going to strangle him. "YOU ALMOST KNOCKED OUR BRAINS OUT!"

"Geez, I said I was sorry!"

….

It had been going on for hours.

"For the last time, what is your name?"

"None of your beeswax, chubby!" Slappy was throwing everything she had at this red-faced commanding officer. And he was literally about to explode.

The once refined-looing castle was now a barren wasteland, and just about everything in it was broken. Chairs, windows, pillars. Even the half the ceiling had been completely ripped away by the giant, who was now sitting outside the locked doors, making sure that no one tried to make a run for it.

All the people of Acme Falls had been put into lines and were being interrogated about their names and where they lived. Then they were taken from the castle, and no one else knew what was being done to them. Everyone was terrified; even Brain didn't seem to be coming up with a plan anytime soon. The person who was interrogating them was a tall, balding commanding officer who had a long waist and a short temper. Everyone was so scared they just gave him their name without a fight. But Slappy wasn't letting _this_ overweight chump get anything out of her anytime soon.

"Listen, _squirrel, _if you don't give me your full name _this instant_, I'll-"

"Join a gym? Now why would I want to keep you from doing that? Nothing in the world would make every unfortunate human being that happens to look at you happier." Slappy was enjoying this. A lot.

The officer roared in rage and grabbed for the old squirrel, but she was already leaning over his shoulder. Then she jumped into his arms and said, "You know, you remind me of a very mature Johnny Quest."

The officer grabbed for Slappy but she rushed back to her spot, trying not laugh. Her nephew, Skippy was staring up in awe, Hello Nurse's eyes darting back and forth as they exchanged retaliations like a tennis match, and Dr. Scratchensniff shaking his head in exasperation. But Slappy didn't care! This was the most fun she had had since she had convinced Skippy that aliens were real.

"This is ridiculous!" the officer screamed.

Slappy nodded. "I know. If they raise those gas prices any higher, somebody's getting whacked upside the head!" Skippy shook his head. His Aunt Slappy was smart, but sometimes she just didn't know when to stop.

The officer buried his head in his hands. "Well, if _you _won't tell me who you are, maybe _this_ young man can." He bent down and stared straight into Skippy's eyes.

Slappy got worried. Skippy was a great nephew, but he did not hold up under pressure well. At all.

"I… um…" Skippy looked down, up, anywhere but the officer's eyes. He looked at Dr. Scratchensniff, who nodded, as if saying _just tell him!_

"Well?"

"Uh… it's…" Skippy nudged behind him, pushing Pesto who was in the line behind them, next to Bobby and Squit. Skippy was hoping to get some help from someone, anyone, but all it did was make Pesto think that Squit pushed him.

"Hey! What, you think that's funny, pushing me around? Why, I oughta…" Pesto was beating up Squit and Bobby was rolling his eyes at the both of them.

The officer shot up and yelled, "QUIET!" The cloud of dust coming from Pesto and Squit, who both fell silent, cleared, with Pesto about to punch Squit in the beak. Squit scrambled back to his spot in line, but Pesto got up slowly, dusting himself off and muttering grumpily.

The officer gave him a look and then turned back to Skippy. "Well I can see that you aren't going to tell me what her name is anytime soon." He suddenly grabbed Skippy around the neck, and pulled him closer, choking him. Slappy instinctively took a step forward.

"So I think I'll let your Aunt do the talking."

"You let go of my nephew or I swear you'll wake up tomorrow with a missing head!"

Skippy kicked and struggled, the commanding officer holding him way above the ground. He gasped, trying to suck in air, but the officer's meaty hand gave no mercy. Slappy took another step forwards, getting ready to knock this guy's block off, but the officer tightened his grip. "One more move and I squeeze the kid's guts out."

Slappy gave in. "It's Slappy Squirrel, alright? Just let him go!" Skippy was squirming violently, coughing and choking.

The officer simply dropped him to the floor and walked on, asking the next person for their name. Slappy helped up her nephew who was still coughing and rubbing his throat.

"Are you okay? Can you breathe? How many fingers am I holding up? Are you sure? Here, I'm gonna hit you with my purse, and-"

"Aunt Slappy, I'm fine!" Skippy ducked out of the way of a flying handbag. "I… I think."

Slappy grabbed a bunch of explosives out of her fur. "He thinks he's so tough? Oh, this guy's in for a-"

Skippy stopped her just after she lit the fuse. "Aunt Slappy, no! Don't do it!" He grabbed the dynamite and threw it across the room, watching it fly out the broken window and explode a row of rosebushes to pieces. They watched as the commanding officer looked up, but then went back to writing things down on his clipboard.

Slappy looked down on her nephew in surprise. "Skippy, what did you do that for? That overgrown gorilla almost gave you a heart attack, and you're passing up the opportunity to blow his brains loose?"

"But Aunt Slappy…" Skippy looked around to make sure that all the soldiers standing around were out of earshot. "If that guy wanted to choke me just to find out your name, who knows what he'll do if you blow him up? I don't think this is going to be all fun and games, Aunt Slappy. These guys mean business."

Slappy hated it, but she knew that Skippy was right. She remembered the feeling she had felt when she had given in for Skippy's sake. It had felt like… defeat. Something she'd never felt before. It had never seemed real until now. And now, it was like the whole world was standing in her way of freedom and captivity. This wasn't right. They had to do something about this.

"You're right Skippy. They do mean business." Slappy straightened herself up. "But if they want to mess with Acme Falls, they're making a big mistake."

….

"Are we there yet?"

Yakko looked like he was going to scream. Cassie sighed. Was this what it was like to have a whiny sister? Dot had been carrying on and on for the past two and a half hours about anything and _everything_ that there was to complain about. The weather, her hair, she was hungry, thirsty, hot, tired, cold, hungry _again_, Wakko kept poking her, she saw a bug, was bored, and now she wanted to know if they were there yet.

"Dot." Yakko was trying to control his voice.

Dot leaned forward. "Yeah?"

"_No we are not there yet!"_ Yep, there it was. Classic road trip with the Warners.

Wakko jolted awake from his sleep, looking around in confusion before remembering where he was. Dot "Hmmph!"ed and crossed her arms, turning away. Cassie hung her head over the side of the carriage, watching the road fly past. They were somewhere in the middle of two huge walls of rocks, like two mountains on either side of them .the walls had creepy-looking tree branches growing out the sides, that looked like evil hands, reaching out for her. This whole place was freaking her out. It was all hazy, and the whole trench was layered with a thick blanket of mist, stretching out as far as the eye could see and beyond.

"Yakko, speaking of where we're going… where _are _we going?" Cassie asked.

There was silence. "Um… Ticktockia, remember?"

Cassie frowned. "You know where that is right? Please tell me you know where you're going."

"Well… no. But I'm _pretty sure_ we take this next left."

Cassie had had enough. "Yakko, _there is no left! We're at the bottom of a trench and we're lost!" _Cassie's "lost" echoed around the eerie cavern, repeating once or twice and then disappearing into the mist.

"What's that noise?" Wakko cocked an ear in the direction they were travelling away from.

"What noise? I don't hear anything." Dot snapped. She was still grumpy from when Yakko had yelled at her.

"Wait a minute…" Yakko stopped Pharfignewton to make sure there was no other noise. They all listened closely, and sure enough, there was a soft rumbling noise coming from around the corner.

Cassie was worried. "Hey… guys…. Maybe we should go. Whatever's making that noise doesn't sound too happy."

"Maybe it's just my stomach. I'm starving!" Wakko complained.

"I don't think it's…" Yakko squinted. There were shadows coming up around the corner. Men riding on horses. Soldiers. Coming after them. Cassie gasped. They hadn't lost them at all. They had been following them until they hit a dead end, where they could be cornered. All Cassie could think was _we have to run._

Everyone screamed at Yakko to get him to go, and he scrambled back up to his spot, but Pharfignewton was way ahead of him. Literally. She completely ripped away from the cart, and took off running through the fog.

"Hey!" Wakko screamed. "You've got all our food!"

"Wakko, _get up!_ Run!" Yakko yanked his brother up by his turtleneck and sprinted like there was no tomorrow. They were all already out of breath, and slowing down. Cassie knew they couldn't outrun horses. They were going to have to lose them, _fast._

Cassie ran past a crevice in the side of the wall of rock, just big enough for someone her size to squeeze through. She heard a noise coming from inside. It sounded like… water.

Cassie slipped through the crack and whispered, "Guys, come this way! Now!"

Yakko looked at her. "Cassie, are you crazy? We need to run _away_ from these guys, not sit and wait for them to come and do who-knows-what to us!" Dot suddenly looked even more terrified than before.

"Yakko, just listen to me." Cassie stepped towards him, talking fast since the shouts and noises of horses coming towards them were getting closer. "We're inside a giant trench. It's a dead end, there's no way out! Remember when my voice echoed across the walls just a minute ago? I can tell, it's a dead end, we'll just get caught if we keep running! Through here, there's a way out, they'll never even try to fit in."

Cassie took his hand and looked into his eyes. "Please. Trust me."

Yakko looked back at his brother and sister, who looked tired and hungry already. Cassie could see he was thinking.

"Okay, but-"

Cassie didn't let him finish, but yanked them all inside of a small, dark, cave that formed a tunnel. There was dark sky, but starlight showing through at the end of it- Cassie was relieved. She hadn't screwed up for once.

They all didn't move a muscle or breathe as they waited for what seemed like hours as they heard a ton of horses speed past without delay. The only thing that seemed wrong was that one horse seemed to stop, and its rider dismounted. They heard footsteps slowly coming towards them, slower, and slower, and…

There was silence for a long time. Not even Dot dared to make a sound. They waited and waited until the rider climbed back onto his horse and galloped away. Once they were sure he was gone, the four of them burst out breathing rapidly. No one said anything; they didn't need to. They all still felt petrified from fear. Cassie wanted to flop on the ground and pass out, but she knew they needed to continue. And now that Pharfignewton had taken off, it was going to be even harder.

"Let's go." Dot finally sighed. They dusted themselves off, and started to make their way towards the light.

"Does anyone have any food left?" Wakko asked sadly.

"I've still got some in my bag." Cassie offered.

Dot took out a bag of her own and checked inside it. "Me too."

"Can I have some?" Wakko asked, now happy.

"No way!" Dot pushed him away as he tried to pounce on her. "We have to save it or we'll starve. And you seriously don't want that to happen to you, Wakko. It would be a living hell for you."

"Dot." Yakko gave her a look for her language. Dot just rolled her eyes and looked away. She irritably kicked at a little rock, like he was always doing this kind of thing. Finally, they emerged from the tunnel and stood in awe at what lay before them. There were tons of little rocks leading to a rushing stream which spread into something bigger. It was a waterfall.

Thousands of thousands of gallons of water were pouring off the side of a cliff and falling into a picturesque little lake at the bottom. The noise was deafening. How could they have not heard it before?

"So what now?" Wakko asked. Dot and Cassie shrugged, and Yakko looked clueless for once. Their silence was interrupted by the neigh of a horse. At first, Cassie thought it was Pharfignewton, coming back to them. But when she turned around, there was a whole army of soldiers standing behind them.

Cassie's eyes got big. How had they found them? She was sure they had escaped. But she pushed the thought away as they all took off mindlessly running in the other direction. Dot screamed as bullets from the guns barely missed her little feet. Yakko and Wakko dodged them like there was no tomorrow, the bullets missing them by mere inches. But Cassie felt nothing. No one was firing at her. Why was nobody firing at her?

Her thoughts were cut short when she, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff.

"What do we do?" Dot screamed over the pounding water.

"We have to… we have to jump!" Yakko yelled. Even he seemed like he didn't think it was a good idea. But it was the only thing to do, and Cassie knew it. She peered over the edge. The bottom didn't seem too far down, maybe just a couple hundred feet, but still a crazy distance nonetheless. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, bringing morning with it, and shedding some light onto the scene. Wakko dipped one toe into the water next to him, and then shook his head.

"No, nope, no way I'm doing this."

Dot started to protest but a bullet shot past her, and she screamed again. Cassie looked over her shoulder, and saw that they were almost there. She whipped her head around, her hair flying in the wind. It was now or never.

Yakko was the first to jump. He fell, screaming to the bottom, and was followed by Dot. Cassie looked at Wakko, motioning for him to go next. He shook his head.

"Wakko you have to!"

"No, I can't do it!" he said.

Cassie snapped. She whipped Wakko's red hat right off his head and tossed it down into the rushing water.

"Hey!" Wakko jumped in right after his hat. Cassie heard him screaming all the way to the bottom.

She turned around to look, and the soldiers were just ten feet away from her. Without thinking, she leapt off and dove straight down the cliff, screaming as she went. She closed her eyes, thinking it would help, but it only made it worse, not knowing when she was going to take the plunge. Cassie hit the water hard, and sank into the dark murk, the world above her muffle and as distant as could be.

**Whoa! Too long for you? I promise that's the longest chapter I'll write for this story. Well… maybe. Okay, I pinkie swear. *locks pinkies with you* Anyway, hope you like the Slappy and Skippy squirrel part, and I hope this isn't too intense for you. I promise to make this story a lot funnier in the very near future! Ah, there I go, making promises again. Oh what the heck, I'm an aspiring person. Aren't we all? ;) Til next time!**


	7. CPR and Wild Wolf attacks

**I'm back! Guess who just finished chapter six? This gal! :) Try to relax… Haha just kidding. I'm not going all I'm-so-awesome on you. But I just might because of all you guys' awesome reviews on this story! They're all really positive and cool, and you guys rock my world for that. Couldn't have asked for a cooler audience. And as a reward, here is chapter six, on a silver platter. *takes off the cover* Bon appetite! **

**Chapter 6- CPR and Wild Wolf attacks**

Cassie burst out of the water, choking and coughing like she would never breathe again. She wiggled her arms and legs in a pathetic attempt to stay afloat. It would've worked fine, except for one thing- she couldn't swim. But you couldn't really blame her. She'd never learned to, due to the fact that she'd been under the care of a psychopath drunk guy for nine years.

Cassie went under again, inhaling even more lakewater into her screaming lungs. She tried to yell for help but ended up letting all her oxygen flow out of her mouth, sending bubbles to the surface.

_Kick! Come on! You already told them you could take care of yourself and now you're drowning because of your own stupid escape idea. Real nice._ All Cassie could do was think about how stupid she had been.

She squeezed he eyes shut and concentrated on making it back above the water. But it felt like something was weighing her down. Some gigantic weight was preventing her from rising up, and she slowly realized that it was her jacket that she had put on before they had hit the road earlier in the morning.

Struggling to swim back up for air, Cassie did the only thing that seemed like it would work. Ripping the jacket off and pulling her arms out of the sleeves, she let go of it and watched it float up out of the water. Cassie felt the weight lift off and she felt as light as air. But she slowly began to realize that she hadn't done it in time. It was too late, and she felt her arms and legs shut down, like they couldn't move at all. Bubbles trickled out of her mouth and with more air exiting her body, she began to sink. Cassie took one last feeble gasp for air, but she only swallowed more water. She didn't have any more strength to move a muscle. She waited, sinking to the bottom of the lake, for her vision to go black. Fish were swimming around lazily like they hadn't a care in the world.

_Must be nice._ Cassie thought. She looked up, and saw where the water from the waterfall was hitting the lake, white bubbles exploding everywhere. Cassie blinked underwater, not caring about the searing pain in her hip from where she had banged it against the rocky wall in the cave earlier. She watched as her brown hair danced in the water and then slowly sank laid itself down next to her. She thought of nothing. She didn't even notice someone slashing into the surface, swimming towards her.

_Is this dying?_ She thought. _I gotta say, it's not so bad. Maybe I'll like wherever I'm going._

_Wait. Why do I feel like I'm going up?_

She was suddenly aware of someone grabbing her hand and pulling her up. Cassie couldn't see who it was. Cassie almost lost consciousness as her rescuer swam and swam up to the surface, going faster and faster until they both broke free. Cassie let water dribble out of her mouth before gasping for air, hyperventilating and feeling suddenly freezing cold. Whoever had saved her must've been small, because they had a hard time dragging her onto the grassy shore. Cassie let her vision clear and looked up; a dripping Wakko Warner was staring down at her.

"Wakko," Cassie tried to say but it barely came out as a whisper, she was so tired. She was too grateful to think of anything to try to say.

Wakko flopped onto the grass, breathing as fast as she was. The sun was all the way past the horizon now, and was peeking out through the dark trees.

"I think," Wakko tried to say something between breaths. "We might have to come up with a new plan. Jumping off a cliff does not seem to be working so far."

"Wakko!" Cassie jumped up and hugged him like he was about to leave for Africa. "I… I can't believe you…"

"Um, you're hurting me." Wakko's muffled voice came out.

Cassie let go. "Oh, sorry."

"Well, I didn't say I didn't like it! A hero deserves some thanks now and then…" Wakko looked disappointed.

Cassie snorted, but she didn't care. She was alive! Breathing! Living! She couldn't believe she'd almost lost the will to live back there. If Wakko hadn't jumped in to get her… Cassie shook her head.

"I'm sorry." She said.

Wakko looked at her. "For what?"

"Giving up. I never should have done that. How did you know I was down there?"

Wakko shrugged. "Well, I just got out of the water and I didn't see you come up. So I just jumped in."

Cassie bent down, threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Well thanks," she said. "My hero." Wakko's hat spun around his head three times, and he looked lovestruck. He sighed and flipped over onto the dewy grass again.

Cassie rolled her eyes, stood up and looked around. Something was missing. All the people on horses had gone. But where were…

"Help!" It was Dot's voice. She was splashing around, struggling to drag someone through the water. A very tall someone dressed in brown slacks. "Guys, help!"

Wakko snapped back up into the air. Cassie realized what was happening.

They both yelled, "Yakko!"

They were flying across the grass, straight into the water, splashing around. Dot swam towards them, having difficulty lugging Yakko's limp body behind her.

Cassie grabbed his arms first and Wakko grabbed around his waist and they all hauled him through the water until they stumbled onto the grass again. Dot turned over his head unmoving head to face them. Yakko's eyes were closed and he was definitely not breathing.

"What do we do?" Dot screamed.

"Calm down! We can't just start panicking!"

"This is the perfect time to panic!" Wakko yelled.

"Okay, okay! Let's be rational about this." Cassie turned to Dot. "What happened?"

"I don't know! I just found him floating there and I just caught him before he went under! He's not breathing! He's gonna die!" Dot burst into tears and Wakko took a step back, like he was about to start crying too.

"He- he's not going to die-" Cassie started to say.

"Wait!" Dot looked up, suddenly with a wild look in her eyes. "You have to give him CPR!"

Cassie almost fell down. "_What?"_

Dot stepped forward and latched onto Cassie, grabbing her shoulders and shaking them ferociously.

"You have to! Now! Do it now!" Dot was screaming right in her face. Cassie looked down and saw Yakko slightly turn his head and moan softly. Dot got even crazier.

"_There! _See? He's still alive! You have to do it right now before it's too late!"

Cassie was shaking her head. "No! I can't! I mean I couldn't! Are you out of your-"

More tears rolled down Dot's face. "Please. You have to try. I can't live without my big annoying brother." Wakko looked at Cassie like he wanted her to try too. Cassie couldn't say no to them anymore.

"Okay. I'll try."

Cassie bent down and held up Yakko's head and laid it on her lap awkwardly. Dot was hopping up and down, anxiously waiting for her to do it. Cassie gulped.

_I really hope that this doesn't count as my first kiss._

Cassie leaned her head down, lower and lower….

….

_Yakko was seven again._

_He and his mother were sitting in the warm living room at night. The fire was blazing and Yakko was playing with his paddleball on the rug while his mother was sitting with Wakko on her lap in her big armchair where she always sat. Their mother was a pretty woman with a kind face and dazzling eyes. _

_At least, that was how his father always said was the first thing he thought about her when he first met her. Yakko's parents loved to talk about how they met and what their wedding was like. Yakko didn't listen most of the time. He didn't like all that mushy-gushy stuff. Besides, he'd rather just stare at girls rather than marry them. _

"_Honey, I can't get her to go to bed," his father was standing in the doorway with a tired expression._

"_Oh, please Will. You know how, remember? Tell her the story." His mother set Wakko down on the floor next to Yakko. _

"_What story?" Wakko asked. _

_Yakko smirked. "You've never heard the story about how Dot was born? Boy, you miss a lot."_

"_Yakko, be nice to your brother." His mother scolded him._

_Yakko looked down. "Sorry." He muttered._

_Yakko's father sighed. "Why don't you tell it? You're a lot better at it than I am." _

"_All right then." His mother got up from her chair and Yakko set down his paddleball and followed her. He never told anyone, but he loved hearing Dot's story. It made him feel at home, closer to his family. Wakko got up and toddled after his brother. Yakko guessed he just wanted to be part of the group._

_His mother entered Dot's room and leaned on the side of the crib. Dot was whining about how she wasn't tired._

"_I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" she whined. _

"_Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesa Banana Fanna Bo Besca III, you had better quiet down or you won't get to hear your story." Their mother always knew how to get Dot to shut up. _

"_Story?" she asked, looking up. _

"_Yes, if you promise to go to sleep afterwards."_

"_I… promise." She said slowly._

"_Okay." She lifted Dot out of the crib and took her to sit with her in the rocking chair in the corner .Yakko and Wakko both sat down at her feet, waiting for her to begin. _

"_Once upon a time, a brave knight married a beautiful princess and they had two sons," she started._

"_But they wanted a daughter too!" Dot said._

"_Right! So they planted a garden all over the kingdom, and on the first day of spring, every flower in that garden bloomed."_

_Yakko joined in. "And out of the prettiest flower, came-"_

"_Me!" Dot laughed. _

"_Right again. And so the knight and his bride- me and your dad- took you home. And every night at bedtime, we'd come in and say, "Who's the cutest girl?" and you'd say-"_

"_I am!"_

"_And we'd ask, "How'd you ever get so cute?" and you'd say-"_

"_I was born that way!"_

"_And then we'd ask, "Tell us your name, young lady." And you'd say-"_

_Dot hesitated. "Um… Princess…"_

_Yakko jumped up. "Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III!"_

_Wakko tackled his brother. "Showoff!" he said. _

"_Hey!" Yakko tried to fight Wakko off._

"_Boys!" their mother yelled. They both fell apart, laughing._

"_Stop it! You're messing up my story!" Dot yelled._

"_That's enough. Wakko, get off your brother right now." Their mother said. "Dot, honey, do you want to hear the rest?"_

"_Yeah! More, more!"_

"_Alright, settle down. And then you'd say, "But you can call me Dot!" and we'd ask, "Can we call you Dottie?" and you'd say,-"_

_Dot knew the answer to this one. "No! Just Dot. Call me Dottie and-"_

"_You die!" they all yelled, smiling._

"_And me and your Dad would laugh and laugh and laugh, and we'd tickle you!" Yakko's mother tickled Dot all over, and they were all laughing now._

"_And you'd laugh too." Dot was yawning now. _

"_And then you'd fall asleep with a great big smile in your heart." Their mother stroked Dot's black fur, making her even drowsier._

"_I like that story." Dot whispered. _

"_Goodnight Dot." Yakko's mother kissed Dot on the forehead and carried her slowly back to the crib, laying her down gently. Then she walked out the door with her sons, turned out the light and closed the door. _

_Once Yakko and Wakko were sent to their own room to go to bed, Wakko asked Yakko something before he fell asleep._

"_Was that seriously the whole story?"_

"_Yeah, it's the same I hear it every time."_

"_Aw man! I got gypped. That wasn't a good story at all."_

Yakko woke up.

Boy, he missed those times. Whenever his mind was wandering, he always thought of them. Sure, it was great to be the oldest and do whatever you wanted. And with no parents, you were basically free. But Yakko couldn't deny it. Sometimes he really missed his Mom and Dad.

Yakko was floating through water. All he saw were bubbles, all rising up to the surface. He had no idea where he was, or what direction up or down was, left or right. He was just there.

It was actually really peaceful. He saw images of things that he loved. His mom and dad, Wakko and Dot, people in Acme Falls. His favorite paddleball, chocolate chip cookies, surfing at the beach. And he saw girls. Lots and lots of beautiful girls!

He tried to say "Hellooooooo nurse!" but his voice wasn't working. In fact, it felt like something was clogging up his lungs.

Then they all disappeared. But the most beautiful of the girls walked to towards him. There was a big, bright light behind her, so he couldn't see her face very well. But he forgot all of that when she started to kiss him.

In fact he forgot everything. Suddenly, the fact that he wasn't floating through water anymore but rather laying on a patch of grass wasn't relevant to him anymore. Wakko and Dot were watching them kiss, jumping up and down for some reason. They were lying next to a lake. Why were they lying next to a lake?

Yakko's eyes snapped open and so did the girl's.

_Oh my god. This is real. This is actually happening._

Yakko's mouth separated from Cassie's and before he knew it, he was choking up water all over himself, and all over Cassie's face. She looked disgusted.

_Great. I slam her fingers in a door and she lies about it for me. Then she gives me mouth to mouth and I spray water all over her face. I may have to watch out or I might accidentally knock her into a volcano or something._

"Hey Yakko? Did you catch any fish for me? I'm starving." Wakko was seemingly unaffected by the humongous fall. Good to know.

"Yakko!" Dot screamed. She launched herself onto his back. "You're okay!

Dot's weight pushed Yakko forward and knocked him right on to Cassie, forcing him on top of her and pushing them all down onto the grass.

Dot hopped off. "Whoopsie." She skipped off, pleased with herself. She and Wakko started to go through their bags and see what they had left.

Cassie looked up at him.

"Are you okay?"

Yakko couldn't stop looking at her. "Uh… yeah."

It didn't take them long to realize that they were both in an awkward position. Yakko tried to get up, but ended up tripping over his own feet and landing on top of her again.

"Ow!" Cassie groaned.

"Sorry!" Yakko rolled over on the grass, feeling incredibly stupid.

"Thanks for the- I mean, thanks for, um-"

"Saving your butt?"

Yakko looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, that." It was so weird. He just felt like he couldn't be himself around her. And especially after she saved his life, and he was babbling like an idiot. He was usually slick and cool around girls, but here he was, with nothing to say but, "Thank you for saving my life! I will now spray you with water that was recently inside my mouth!" It felt dumb. _He _felt dumb. And he _never _felt dumb.

"So I guess now you owe me twice."

"Well, technically, when I slammed your fingers in the door, you _did _have a chance to move them. So I'll just count that as a 25%."

Cassie scoffed. "Are you kidding? I save your life and you're already ripping me off."

"Say no more. That kissback there was free of charge."

Cassie glanced at him. "It wasn't a _kiss_. It was mouth to mouth resuscitation. That's all that happened. And that's all that's ever _going _to happen." Cassie stood up and dusted herself off. "Take my advice. If you ever want to get a girlfriend, don't hit on her every second of the day."

"Whoa, feisty much?" Yakko was back with his flirty comebacks.

"News flash: I'm leaving now." Cassie strode off to where Wakko was going through Dot's bag.

_She is so in love with me. _

Yakko got up and turned to the cliff where they had jumped from. Wow, that was high! No wonder he had passed out.

Wakko and Dot were fighting over who got what in the bag and Cassie started to settle the fight. It wasn't going well.

"I don't _care _how hungry you are, mister swallow-everything-in-sight, _we _have to eat too!"

"Yeah. You can. Just not as much as me." Wakko pulled out a banana and swallowed it whole.

"Diiiiiistgusting!" Dot pretended to gag.

"You think they'll ever stop fighting?" Cassie asked Yakko.

"When Lady Gaga wears something normal."

"Lady Gaga?" Wakko shot up like a rocket. "Helloooooo nurse!"

Dot shook her head. "I could've had sisters, but noooooo…" Then she grabbed Cassie's arm. "Which is why we girls need some serious bonding time."

"Fine by me," Cassie eyed Yakko as Dot tugged her away, towards the woods.

"Hey, where are you going?" He yelled after them.

Dot hollered back. "We're gonna go pick flowers or something. I don't know! Just leave us alone for a while, okay?"

Yakko scoffed. "Girls…"

Wakko ate a whole pineapple. "So what now?"

Yakko slumped down on a tree, feeling bored without someone to flirt with. "We wait."

Wakko groaned. "Noooo! Let's go do something fun!"

Yakko looked up. "Like what?"

"We could go look for food!"

"No thanks."

"We could… eat food?"

"Pass."

"Go swimming?"

"Wakko, I just almost drowned."

Wakko thought. He suggested a lot of pointless and uninteresting things for them to do, to which Yakko denied every one. Finally, after almost an hour of the both of them playing with sticks and rocks, he came out with something.

"Go and scare the girls when they least expect it?"

Yakko jumped up. "Now you're talking!"

On their way into the woods, Wakko started to smirk at something.

"Yakko?"

"Yeah?"

Wakko smiled. "You know you weren't the _only_ one that Cassie kissed today, right?"

Yakko looked at his brother doubtfully. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just next time you jump off a waterfall, try to stay _awake_ so that you can save a girl from certain death and get smooched on the cheek, all right?"

"She did what now?" Yakko gaped.

"What? _Jealous?_" Yakko could tell his brother was enjoying this. After all, he did get a lot more girls than Wakko did, considering that he was irresistibly cute.

"So what? She kissed me on the _mouth_, and it lasted way longer than yours."

"It was CPR, Yakko."

"That's not what her lips said!"

Wakko shoved his brother playfully. "Those girls are right. You _are _disgusting."

"Oh, this coming from the guy who burps 24/7 and eats everything he sees." Yakko ran ahead of Wakko. "Call me when you can catch up to my league!"

"No way!" Wakko sprinted after his brother. "You don't even _have _a league. And besides," he said, slowing down. "Cassie doesn't even like you."

Yakko's run diminished into a walk again. "Yes she does. She's just got a huge crush on me and doesn't know how to control her feelings. I see it all the time."

Wakko shook his head at his brother's arrogance. "Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked her."

"Duh."

"Not just because she's hot."

Yakko stopped.

Wakko continued forward. "Don't deny it Yakko. You just met her and you like her. It's no big deal."

Yakko couldn't think of anything to say. "But- I- but… _wait!" _He rushed to catch up with him.

"I don't like her like that. In fact, I don't like her at all." Yakko said matter-of-factly.

Wakko raised his eyebrows. "Really."

"Really! She's a spoiled brat, she only cares about herself-"

"She saved your life," Wakko cut in.

"- and she's a know it all." Yakko continued as if he didn't hear him.

"Sure sounds a lot like someone _I _know."

"What is with you?" Yakko was surprised his brother was being so nasty.

"What's with _you_? Ever since Cassie showed up you've been acting like a jerk!" Wakko seemed like he'd been waiting to yell at him for a while.

"That's not fair!" Yakko said. "Suddenly you're springing all this stuff on me about who liking who and me being this and me being that. You're way out of line!"

Wakko rolled his eyes. "Out of line. That's what you call me trying to get you to talk about someone you're clearly in love with?"

"_I'm not-"_

Yakko was interrupted by a blood curling scream. It was coming from the direction that the girls had walked in. And it sounded a lot like…

"Dot." Yakko and Wakko said.

….

Dot kicked and punched, but it was no use. They were overpowering her.

They were dogs. Big, super-sized hyena-looking things with three sets of teeth, and yellow eyes. Claws over three inches long, mangy, brown, spotted fur and legs the size of school desks. Each.

They had ambushed her and Cassie as they turned to walk around a big pine tree. One had jumped on top of Cassie and two others had cornered Dot, and were already starting to try and bite at her. They had growled and snarled like lions as they had closed in. Cassie had grabbed a thick stick and was trying to fight her dog off with it, but it snapped it in two with one bite.

But Dot wasn't really paying attention. She was also trying not to get eaten at the moment.

She aimed a small kick at one of the dog's nose, but missed and hit it in the throat instead. The dog lunged for her angrily, and she nearly avoided him by ducking and rolling away at the last moment, screaming again.

Wait. Why wasn't she screaming for help?

Dot yelled before ducking another attempted bite again. "Help! Yakko! Wakko!"

Cassie punched her dog square in the forehead, which only made it fiercer. It leaped towards her, and she was knocked on the ground up against a large pine tree. Cassie nervously yanked her foot out of her sandal just as the dog took a big bite out of it.

"Dot? A little help?" she asked feebly.

"Kinda busy." Dot grunted as she jumped on one of the dog's backs and tried to ride it like a bull.

Cassie ducked out of the way just as the dog lunged forward at her. It hit the tree and looked dizzy for a couple seconds. Then it fell limply onto the ground.

"Yes! We got one down!"

"Terrific." Dot muttered. "You wanna help me out now?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Cassie picked up her sandal with a bite taken out of it and threw it at one of the dogs that was fighting with Dot.

"Hey, fur-face!" she yelled.

"Watch it!" Dot warned.

"I wasn't talking about you!" Cassie dodged out of the way of a charging canine.

"If you're all done with your girl fight, you may want to ask for some help." Yakko and Wakko were standing in the way of a tree, peeking out on both sides.

"It's about time you got here!" Dot yelled, annoyed. She was still on top of the other dog, which was growling louder than ever, and trying to throw her off. _I deserve a gold medal for this._ Dot thought.

"Now may not be the best time, but why are you two wrestling with gigantic dogs?" Wakko asked.

"Just get over here and help us!" Cassie said, kicking the dog in the face.

"Can I get a please?" Yakko asked.

"Yes. Please try and find someone else to annoy while they're being attacked by wild dogs!" Cassie picked up another fallen tree branch and smashed the beast's face in with it. It fell promptly to the ground next to the other one.

"Hey, I got another one!" She said with delight.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Dot was sure she was turning green, which was so not her color.

"Looks like we're gonna have to do this without a please and thank you." Yakko sprang out from behind the tree and so did Wakko. They both tackled the dog, only to be thrown off again.

Wakko looked up from where he landed. "How… did… it do that?" he asked, before falling back down again.

Dot couldn't hold on any longer. She let go of the dog's back, flying across their heads and hitting Yakko square in the chest.

"Hey, thanks, big brother." Dot said, sliding off of him.

Yakko just stayed on the ground. "Don't mention it." He coughed.

"Yakko get off your butt! We're not done yet!" Wakko said, watching the dog come slowly towards them.

"Quick! Climb the tree!" Dot hissed.

Cassie threw her other shoe at the dog to buy them some time as they all tried to scramble up the tree at once. It didn't look sturdy, Dot had to admit. The old pine had to be at least 100 years old.

_Can it hold our weight?_ She thought. _Guess we'll find out._

Cassie jumped up on a branch after Yakko before the dog nearly bit her foot off. The huge wolf-like thing scratched at the tree trunk, snarling like he was about to rip them apart, limb from limb.

Cassie stumbled back, yanking her legs up. "Whoa!"

Wakko looked down nervously. "What do we do now?"

"Me and Cassie did all we can. Your turn now." Dot replied.

"What are _we _supposed to do?" Yakko asked. "We didn't bring anything with us. It's all back at the lake."

Dot realized something. "Hold on! Why are you even here? You were supposed to wait there and leave us alone."

Wakko answered, "That isn't important. Besides, you guys totally would've been eaten without us helping you."

"All _you _did was make it hungrier. And now we're stuck in a tree, waiting for a gigantic wolf to eat us alive." Dot snapped. The dog tried to jump up the tree trunk, but they were thankfully too far up.

"What are they?" Cassie asked.

"Beats me." Yakko said. "But whatever they are, the other two are waking up." He pointed to the other two no longer unconscious dogs, which were now awake and more ferocious than ever.

"Great." Cassie said. "You don't think they can climb trees, do you?"

"Of course not. They're wolves, they don't climb trees. But I see you can." A voice was coming from down on the ground. Dot jumped and looked down. There was a girl standing behind the three wolves, who were still scratching at the tree and barking.

It was a tall, fourteen, maybe fifteen year old girl, just standing there, as if she saw people stuck in trees all the time. She had dark brown eyes and black hair that almost looked blue. She was wearing a blue dress and an annoyed expression. She turned to the three wolves.

"_Hey! _Knock it off." She yelled. The wolves whipped around, turning their heads to her, and then bounded straight towards her and started to play with her.

Yes, _playing _with her, like they were all little puppies. And she played back, tickling their tummies and giving them baby talk, as if they weren't gigantic dog freaks of nature.

Dot looked around. Yakko looked completely confused; Wakko looked like he was in love, and Cassie looked like she was about to kill someone.

She dropped out of the tree and stomped towards the girl who was petting the wolves.

"Excuse me but _what _is going on here?"

"I just called off my pets from attacking you and your friends. You're welcome." The girl stood up and raised her eyebrows, as if to say, _you want to argue with that?_

"Called- you- these things are you _pets_?" Cassie spluttered.

"Whoa, she's flipped her lid." Yakko whispered.

Cassie whirled around. "I heard that! Get out of the stupid tree already." She turned back to the wolves, who now looked like Cassie was threatening their owner. "Apparently, these _things _won't bite unless their owner sets them on your case."

Dot slid out of the tree and advanced towards Cassie. She obviously did not like this girl, whoever she was, and Cassie seemed like she was about to explode. If she hadn't already.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I didn't send them to kill you if that's what you think. They came here of their own accord."

"Oh, so you just let three massive dogs run around-"

The girl tossed back her black hair. "They aren't dogs!"

Cassie eyed one of the wolves which was slobbering all over her shoe, still chewing on it from when she had thrown it at him. "Then what are they?"

"They're Lupacai."

Yakko and Wakko hopped out of the tree. "What does that mean?" Wakko asked, still staring at her with a dreamy look on his face.

"Lupacai, derived from the Latin word _lupus, _meaning wolf. I took them in because they're the last of their kind which lived hundreds of years ago-"

Cassie was still annoyed. "Okay, that's real interesting and all, but I'd like to know why they tried to kill us, thanks"

The girl narrowed her eyes, like she hated Cassie as much as she hated her. "They tried to _supervise _you for me until I got here because they thought you were spies."

_What? _Even though Dot was thinking Cassie was overreacting, she still thought this was ridiculous. _Spies? As if!_

"No offense, but you need to be more careful about who you sic your wolves on." Dot said.

"I guess so. If I had known that you would act like this, I wouldn't have wasted my time listening to you complain."

Dot grabbed Cassie's arm before she did something she knew she would regret. "Don't kill her! She's got ginormous wolves backing her up, remember?" she whispered.

Yakko tried to change the subject before things got out of hand. "So, who exactly are you?"

"I'm Rosetta Claythorne. And I take it you're all… lost?"

Wakko jumped into her arms and smiled dreamily. "I'm not. I don't know about you guys, but I've found where I'm gonna stay forever!"

Rosetta looked at Wakko. "Wait a minute- you guys are the kings and queen of Acme Falls, right?"

Dot forgot about Rosetta being a jerk. "See? Our fame is even known here! Wherever here is."

Rosetta dropped Wakko on the ground. "Actually, you're right outside my hometown, Tauntwood. Sorry you had such an… interesting welcome."

Cassie rolled her eyes. Rosetta turned to her. "And I'm just guessing here… you're not royalty."

Dot saw Cassie clench and unclench her fists.

_She's about to become a murderer. _

"No, I'm just a normal girl who doesn't own a trio of psychotic _dogs _and walks around accusing people of being spies."

"You can't be too careful." Rosetta stroked one of her wolves' fur. "And anyway, if you four aren't spies then what are you doing here?"

"Ahhhh…." Yakko tried to think of something to say.

"It's not really any of your business. So thanks for almost having us ripped apart, but we've really got to be on our way." Cassie turned around, dragging Dot with her.

Wakko' face drooped. "Aw, do we have to leave?"

Rosetta tossed her perfect hair again. "Yeah. Do you even know where you're going?"

Cassie answered without turning around. "Right now, any way that's the direction pointing _away _from you is good enough for me."

"That's too bad. I guess you don't want my help then."

Cassie stopped. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Rosetta smiled, a bit nastily. "Well, it's just that you four dropped out from a waterfall." Yakko and Wakko looked at her.

"Yeah, I saw that." She said. "So you have no provisions, nothing to help you survive out here. Then you wander around these woods and get yourself into trouble with my Lupacai, which would have eaten you if I hadn't shown up, by the way. And now you're going to walk out on me, away from civilization, with no way to know where you're going."

Dot knew she was right. If this Rosetta girl knew how to get them back on the right track, they needed to accept. They were going to need all they help they could get.

Cassie reluctantly stepped towards her. "And what makes you so sure that you'll be able to help us with whatever we're going to do?"

"Well, of course, you'll need to tell me first."

Cassie and Yakko and Dot exchanged glances. Even though she had saved them from her weird wolf-things, they still had just met her.

But Wakko didn't seem to have a problem with that at all. "We're on our way to Ticktockia to try and stop some crazy lady named Griselda from taking over our kingdom."

"Wakko!" they all yelled. He looked around, confused.

"What?" he said.

"That was kind of classified info, Wakk." Yakko reminded him.

"Oh."

But Rosetta looked as surprised as ever.

She stepped forward, whispering suddenly. "Are you- are you sure?"

Cassie leaned back, as if afraid of catching a disease. "What's it to you?" she asked rudely.

"It's everything." Rosetta said. "Griselda is on a tyrannical shopping spree. She's been taking control of every town in Warnerstock. And you guys were her last target."

**That's it!** **You'll have to wait for more because my hands are getting tired. Sorry! But if you want the next chapter to come faster, you'll have to write reviews ;) I know most of you out there write fanfics as well, and you know how great it feels to see a review, right? So give a little to get a little. Lol, thanks for being awesome and catch ya later.**


	8. The Road to Reveloution, sort of

**Ahhh! I'm sorry if this chapter took too long, I've just been really busy, trying to fit in writing time. It's been really frustrating, running this way and that and not even being able to write for you lovely people :) Okay, read on!**

**Chapter 7- The road to Revolution (sort of)**

"Come on!"

Cassie shook her head. "No."

Dot whined. "But pink looks so good on you!"

"Dot! I'm fine with what I'm wearing."

"Well, I'm not."

Cassie groaned. It was nearly twilight and the Warner sibs, Rosetta and Cassie were all settling in for the night. Rosetta had started a fire, (Cassie had muttered under her breath about how she could've done it just as well) and they were all lying around it, trying to entertain themselves. Rosetta was leaning against one of her Lupacai's backs, staring off into the distance, Yakko was fiddling with his paddleball, Wakko was going through his gag bag, and Dot was trying to make Cassie try on outfits.

Much to Cassie's disgust, Rosetta had agreed to help them with their mission to save Acme Falls. After all, she did know her way around the place; and with three gargantuan wolves backing them up? They were going to have the time of their lives.

At least, that was what they all hoped. Yakko still wasn't completely sure that this was a good idea. They had almost died at least three times in the past two days, and they weren't making any progress, except for getting chased around and nearly escaping armies and wolves and god knew what else…

Still, Rosetta was hopefully going to help them out. If Cassie didn't kill her first. Yakko just didn't understand why girls had to fight so much. And speaking of girls fighting-

"How many outfits can you fit in that bag?" Cassie asked, while Dot dug through hers, throwing various articles of clothing this way and that, burying Wakko.

"You'd be surprised." Dot pulled out an emerald green tank top. "Try this one on!"

"Nope."

"You'll look really pretty."

"Yippee."

"It matches your eyes," Dot persuaded.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to sleep now." Cassie was lying on the leaf- covered ground, and she put her arm over her face.

"Come on," Dot jumped onto her stomach and made her cutest face. "Pweeeeeeese?"

"Fine!" Cassie shot up and snatched the tank out of her hands, stomping off into the trees.

Yakko looked up. "Well, now that Queen Crabby's gone, I guess we can talk." Wakko poked his head out of the pile of clothes.

Rosetta looked towards him. "What's there to talk about?"

Yakko thought. "How about… what the heck is Tauntwood?"

Rosetta started stare off into space again. "It used to be the greatest place in the world. It was beautiful, nice people lived there, nothing was wrong. But we were overthrown by Ticktockia when I was three, and ever since then, it's been turned into something close to a concentration camp. They built fences, and we all have to wear uniforms. We have to get up at dawn to work and then we go to bed at midnight. No one's allowed out after that. If they catch you, they kill you. That's the rule."

Yakko glanced at his sibs, who looked as uneasy as he felt. "And what did they make you work on?"

Rosetta looked down. "Mostly just made us tear down all the old buildings and build new ones, made out of stone. And if you're a small child, they make you break rocks into smaller rocks, like in a prison. It's pointless, cruel and ridiculous. They're saying it's for the good of our community, but I know they're turning us into their own personal zombies who will do whatever they say. They took away our freedom, and they're going to do the same with your town."

Wakko had somehow dug his way out from the mountain of clothes, and now he was sitting next to Dot. "Wait, so if you live there, why aren't you trapped there like the rest of them?"

Rosetta silently pulled up her right sleeve, revealing a small tattoo on her shoulder. It shaped like a triangle, with three dots in the center.

Wakko bounded forward. "Helloooooo nurse! Tattoos are hot!"

Rosetta pushed his face away. "You're missing the point, numbskull! This means I'm part of the resistance."

Dot cocked her head to one side. "You mean like the video game?"

Rosetta rolled her eyes. "No. I mean that a secret group of people met underground one day, and swore that they were going to break out of this prison one day. I've been part of it since I was nine. And we finally built a tunnel under the fence. We're just not evacuating yet. We're… waiting for something."

"What's that?" Yakko asked.

Rosetta was interrupted by Cassie, who had returned from the woods, and was now changed into the new top. "Are you happy now, Miss picky?"

Dot looked up and put her hands up in a square formation, like she was picturing her on camera. "Nah, I was wrong. Green is not your color."

Cassie scoffed and sat down. "Well, whatever. I'm not changing again. I think I stepped on something back there."

She pulled up her leg and examined her bare foot, which had a splinter in it. "Great."  
>"Where are your shoes?" Rosetta asked.<p>

Cassie didn't look at her. "Your dogs are chewing them up. When you get the slobber off, I'd like them back, please."

Rosetta frowned. "They're Lupacai! Not dogs!"

"Oh, sorry. The drooling and fleas sort of mislead me."

Rosetta made a sudden movement, but Dot jumped up. "Guys, stop!"

Yakko took out his paddleball again. Girls were fun to watch. Girl _fights_ were not.

Rosetta and Cassie argued and bickered until the sun started to sink. After a while, Dot gave up and left them to their clashing. Yakko watched the sun disappear below the horizon, stretching out into billions of dark trees. He could still hear the waterfall, which was not too far away from them. They had a supply of drinking water near them. That was refreshing. Next to the fact that they were still on the run from a crazed army of Ticks who wanted to annihilate him and his sibs.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't even realistic! Once they had finally gotten to eat something other than inedible gruel and actually live in a town without extreme taxes or psychotic kings running the place, they were attacked without warning from a distant country. For no reason. Yakko's anger heightened the more he thought about it. Who took over a kingdom, endangered people's lives, destroyed families, and wrecked the entire balance of nature, just for giggles?

It didn't seem right. Yakko was sure he was missing something. But that something wasn't coming quietly.

After a while, Wakko finally flopped onto his back and let out a big sigh. "I'm tired."

Rosetta and Cassie turned away from their heated argument long enough to realize that they were too.

Yakko had an idea. "Yeah, I say we turn in."

Wakko grinned. "To what?" Dot rolled her eyes but she looked like she enjoyed it. They hadn't used that joke in a while. The other girls looked at each other, confused.

"What are you guys talking about?" Rosetta asked.

"Nothing. Now keep it down! I need my beauty sleep." Dot started to roll her hair into curlers.

Cassie sighed, lying down on her jacket that she had fished out of the lake earlier. Dot rested on her bag, and Rosetta laid back down on one of the Lupacai's backs.

Wakko curled up, using his gag bag as a pillow. Yakko looked around, finding nothing he could lay down on. He looked behind him, to one of the lupacai who was sleeping behind him.

_Ugh, it's freezing! My fur isn't nearly as thick as these guys'. I wonder if…_

Yakko gently poked its shoulder. The lupacus instantly growled in its sleep, and Yakko yanked his hand back.

_Ok. Guess not._

Feeling annoyed, Yakko laid his head back on the cold ground, staring up at the millions of stars above. It would have been peaceful except that he suddenly felt something crawling on his back. Yakko shot up and reached behind him.

_Please don't be a spider, please, please, please…._

Yakko found the source of the itching and pulled it off his back.

_Oh, just a stupid caterpillar._

Yakko tossed the little thing away from him, feeling extra annoyed now. If it had been a spider, he would have freaked out, and even people in Timbuktu could have heard him. He could not _stand _spiders. Or bugs for that matter. And there had been a lot of them in the watertower. One would've thought that he would have gotten used to them, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. If he so much as saw a tiny little spider crawling on his foot, he screamed like a little girl. Nope, it wasn't really something he liked to gab about at a dinner party.

So now that he knew that little creepy-crawlies were scuttling around, there was no way Jose he was laying his bare head on the ground tonight.

"Dot?" Yakko whispered. "Dot!"

"What?"

"Do you have something I can-" Yakko was answered by a big flowery dress hitting him in the face.

"You're welcome. Now shush! If I don't go to sleep now I'm gonna be butt ugly in the morning!" Dot already sounded irritable.

"Thanks." Yakko said, rolling his eyes at her. Sometimes she was just so crazy about being cute and _staying_ that way overnight. He was glad he wasn't like that. Besides, he really couldn't get any more handsome than he already was.

Yakko balled up the dress, and laid down, closing his eyes, beginning to dream.

_Hellooooooooo Megan Fox!_

….

Skippy's muscles ached. They actually felt like they were burning. Again and again he pounded his hammer on the nails, driving them into the wood. For hours on end he'd been doing this. And the fact that that commander moron was yelling into a megaphone when he was standing right next to him didn't help at all.

They were all working. There wasn't a person in Acme Falls that hadn't been slaving away all day and night, and frankly, the town wasn't holding up well. People were complaining, slacking off and not really doing much work. But every time the commander yelled that he was going to bring out the whips, everyone reluctantly started to work again, this time without complaint.

And Skippy was still confused about what they were doing anyway. Mostly he figured the Ticks wanted to keep them busy until they decided what they were going to do with them. When he took as much time as he dared to look around, he saw Dr. Scratchy hammering nails in like he was, and so were Hello Nurse, Minerva Mink, and his own aunt Slappy. A couple feet away from him, Rita, Runt, Pesto, Squit and Bobby had been stuck with transferring supplies. The Goodfeathers were trying to fly bags of cement and bricks all the way across town. Pesto was complaining even louder than ever.

"Are you kidding me? I ain't cut out for this stupid, lousy-" Skippy was impressed that Pesto could spew that many swear words all out at once.

Rita and Runt were dragging bags full of what seemed like… everything from cement cinderblocks to iron bars , behind them, panting the whole way.

"This is definitely heavy, Rita, definitely, definitely heavy." Runt wheezed.

"I think I'm gonna turn myself into the pound if this is what being under Tick control is like." Rita grumbled.

"You're a good dog, Rita. Yup, definitely, definitely a good dog."

Skippy wondered where Pinky and the Brain were, but he soon heard them on top of the roof, nailing in the shingles.

"I'm confused, Brain." Pinky said. "What exactly are we doing?"

"Isn't it obvious, Pinky? We are constructing a typical structure used as a base for internment camps, particularly placing the rooftop components in their correct places."

Pinky scratched his head. "Oh. I thought maybe we were playing a xylophone."

Brain picked up his hammer and brought it down on Pinky's head, causing him to laugh hysterically. Skippy shook his head and went back to nailing in boards while he heard the guy with the megaphone screeching at him to get back to work.

He heard Aunt Slappy cursing under her breath. "We'll show them," she kept saying.

Skippy leaned over slightly and whispered, "What do you mean, Aunt Slappy?"

Slappy waited until the guard walked away because Scratchensniff had accidentally hammered his thumb. "You're not old enough, Skip. Just know this- we're going to get out of this, okay? I know you deserve better than this life. We're going to get out. Just the way we're going to do it is not any of your business."

Skippy's anger heightened. This always happened. He got the chance to do something cool and tried to do it, only to be told he was too young. He was sick of it. "No." he whispered.

Slappy raised her eyebrows. "Whaddaya mean no?"

"I mean I'm in on it. Whatever you guys are planning is too my business. I'm not too young, Aunt Slappy." He said, looking her straight in the eye. "I can help."

Slappy looked down, thinking. Then she shook her head. "Nope. Too dangerous."

Skippy slammed is hammer down on the metal nail. "Yes, I am! I'm going with you tonight, to the meeting."

Slappy looked around, shushing him. "Keep your voice down, will ya? Where did you hear about that?"

Skippy felt pleased with himself. "I heard you and Mr. Plotz talking about it earlier. You guys are gonna-"

Slappy shushed him even more. "Do you want to get us caught? If you know about it, don't go yellin' it out like that." Skippy bent down to pick up more nails.

Slappy sighed. "Look, I know you want to help, but… I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you."

Skippy's anger softened. "Okay, I get that. But I know I can help us escape. I _promise _I'll be quiet, and good and patient and not do anything dumb and I'll do whatever you say!" Skippy pleaded. "I'm ready. I really want to help. I-"

"Alright, alright, sheesh! I must be out of my mind." Slappy said, shaking her head. "But you have to _swear_ that you won't do something stupid and get yourself hurt. Promise me." Slappy looked at him.

It would've been a meaningful moment, except for when the commanding officer yelled, "_Shut up and get back to work!"_ in their ears with a megaphone.

They both turned back to their work, slowly nailing in boards of wood. When the guard finally stormed off to pull the Goodfeathers away from a fight, Skippy took the chance.

Leaning over, he whispered, "I promise."

….

Yakko hadn't even gotten five minutes into the morning and had already realized that a pillow to the face was not a great way to wake up.

Much to his luck, Rosetta was an early riser. That meant she was somehow perky in the morning. And that meant that Cassie was annoyed beyond all reason. And that meant that everyone else was grumpy, tired and not in the mood.

In other words, it was a fine morning.

"Ready to go?" Rosetta smiled, shouldering her backpack that she had brought across her back.

Everyone mumbled some sort of response, which apparently was good enough for her.

"Okay, then. Tauntwood is…" she looked around. "That way, due east." She pointed towards the sun which was slowly ascending above the tips of the dark fir trees.

Dot smoothed out her hair. "Okay, let's go. The sooner we get there, the better. I need a hot shower and a nap. Or three."

Yakko was too tired to think of a sarcastic comment, so he just trudged on after his sister, following her Wakko and Rosetta downhill, weaving in and out of the dark trees.

It seemed like they went hours without talking. Just the singing of birds, the breeze blowing softly and Dot humming some annoying song.

Yakko's mind was utterly blank and wandering, until someone broke through his barrier of non- thought.

"Yakko, you dropped something." It was Cassie, who was behind him, already picking up a piece of folded paper off the grass.

A little bell went off in Yakko's head. _Red alert! She's got the picture!_

Yakko reached for the paper. "Um, that's nothing. You can give it back now, I mean it's completely worthless- just a piece of scrap paper."

Cassie yanked it away, smiling mischievously. "Wait, I wanna see-"

She unfolded it, holding it away from Yakko who was still making grabs for it. It was a picture of Yakko when he was six, next to Wakko and Dot who had been even younger. And their parents were standing behind them, smiling and laughing. They were standing in front of a huge fountain, Yakko giving Dot a piggy-back ride and Wakko holding on to his dad's leg, who was laughing down at him. They all were on the verge of breaking into fits of laughter; Yakko had remembered when the photo was taken.

Cassie giggled. "That's you?"

Yakko rolled his eyes. "No, it's my cousin from Germany."

"Aww, look at Wakko and Dot…" Cassie stared at Wakko who had been wearing his old blue turtleneck and hat, which had both been way too big for him at that age, with the sleeves falling way over his hands and his hat hanging off to one side. Dot was in a pink baby t-shirt and diaper, sucking on a pacifier, but it was almost about to fall out of her mouth because she was laughing too hard.

"Yeah, when they couldn't talk they were a lot more lovable." Yakko tried to grab the picture again, but Cassie was faster than him, jerking it out of the way every time.

"And those are your parents?" Bam. She'd hit a home run. This was what Yakko had been waiting for.

"Uh huh." Was all he said. Cassie looked up at him, realizing she'd hit a sore spot.

"Oh, sorry." she handed it back to him. Yakko took it back and folded it back in the same old way it always did. He looked at the words written on the back of the photo. _September 5, 2004. Acme Falls, Warnerstock. _Yakko rubbed his thumb over them, remembering his mother's loopy handwriting. It was a miracle he could still read this. Mom's handwriting had been darn near illegible.

"It's okay. I just never really flaunt it around like fine jewelry, for all to see. I actually never should have brought it…" Yakko stuffed it back in his pocket, this time shoving it way down so it couldn't sneak out again.

"No, I get it. I mean, if I still had a picture of my family, I would carry it around with me all the time. Good thing I still-" Cassie stopped abruptly stopped walking.

Yakko stopped and looked back. "What?"

Cassie reached up to her neck and felt around, realizing something was wrong. "Where is it?" she said.

"Where's… what?"

"My necklace! The diamond I always wear on the silver chain, it sometimes glows purple, my necklace! Where is it?" Cassie started looking around frantically, going from a state of surprise to hysteria.

"I can't lose it! Crap, I am so screwed if I lost it, I _need _to find it!" Cassie felt in her pockets. "Please, please let it be here…"

Something flickered in Yakko's memory, causing him to reach inside his pocket again, bringing something out. "Wait, is this what you're looking for?" he said, holding the chain, letting the diamond dangle around, glowing like mad.

Cassie grabbed it right out of his hands, with a crazy, animal look in her eye. "Oh God, oh God, how did you find it?"

Yakko looked as though he was worried for her sanity. "Well, you're welcome. I remember seeing it floating in the lake, and I grabbed it just before I passed out, because it was glowing. Like, really bright."

Cassie threw him off balance, hugging him so hard he almost fell over. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Yakko slipped out of her arms. "Whoa! Don't break the merchandise."

Cassie laughed, not caring. "Oh my gosh, thank you! You would not believe what would've happened if I lost it…" she slipped the necklace back on.

Yakko smirked. "What? The world would have ended?" She was sure acting like it.

Cassie smirked back. "No. I would have lost the only thing I have left of my real family. Kind of like your picture."

"Okay, sure. I only have one question." Yakko started walking more slowly. "Why does it glow like that?"

Cassie was about to answer when Dot, who was up several yards ahead of them with Wakko and Rosetta, yelled behind her shoulder, "Hey! Pick it up, slowpokes!"

"We're coming already!" Yakko yelled back. "Come on," he said, walking faster.

"Wait." Cassie said, stopping again. "How… how come you can touch it?"

Yakko was totally confused now. "What are you talking about?"

Cassie held up the diamond around her neck. "The crystal. How are you touching it and not feeling any pain?"

"Cassie, you've long since lost me." Yakko said. "Shouldn't _anyone _be able to touch it and not feel pain? I mean, it's just a diamond."

"Yeah, but…" Cassie started to say something again but was interrupted.

"_Hurry up!" _Dot shrieked.

"Okay!" they both yelled back.

"Never mind." Cassie said quickly. "We should catch up with them or we'll get left behind."

Yakko picked up his pace. "Yeah, you're right."

Cassie took off running, leaving Yakko behind her.

"Oh, and Yakko?" she said, spinning around.

"What?"

"You looked _adorable _in overalls."

**And so ends another chapter of my seemingly tacky story. Thank you for reading and pleeeeeeease review! Reviews are what I look forward to seeing every day! It doesn't even have to be good. Just write one. Well, preferably good, but okay, I'm gonna stop annoying you now. Bye, til the next chapter. Review! Adios. :) **


	9. The good, the bad, and the annoying

**Sup my peeps! First of all, thanks for your reviews. I heart you guys so much! I have nothing else to say, soooooooo yeah. **

**Enjoy :)**

**Chapter 8- The good, the bad and the annoying**

Plotz slammed his fist down on the table to get everyone to stop talking. The chatter slowly died down, especially when they saw the look on his face. Either it was his stressed expression or the fact that they were all standing in the dark underground passage that they had found between the castle and the watertower; everyone had slightly gathered that Thaddeus Plotz was not in the mood.

It was around 2:00 in the morning, when most of the guards had accidentally fallen asleep; when Plotz, Scratchy and Slappy had gathered everyone they trusted and told them to meet in the passageway when they could. Most of the people they had told were Hello Nurse, Minerva Mink, Skippy of course, Pinky and the Brain, the Goodfeathers, Ralph T. Guard, Rita, Runt, Flavio, Marita, Buttons, Mindy, and questionably, the Mime.

"Settle down!" he yelled, even though no one was really talking anymore.

"Now, we all know why we're here, correct?" he asked.

Pinky raised his tiny mouse hand, waving it around in the air. "Ooh! Ooh! Pick me, pick me!"

Plotz rolled his eyes. "What, Pinky?"

Pinky put down his hand. "Um, we're here to dye our hair magenta and open up our own ice skating rink, right?"

Plotz slapped a hand over his face. "Brain!"

Brain pounded Pinky over the head with a tube of Minerva's lipstick. Minerva grabbed it back. "Gimme that!"

Slappy waved her umbrella around. "Ah, enough with the yellin' already! Let's get down to business. We're all sick and tired of this stupid Ticktockia taking over thing, and we're putting an end to it!"

Everyone was silent. Plotz continued. "Uh, thank you Slappy. We know that Ticktockia is in control now… but the question is, what are we going to do about it?"

It was even more silent than before. Everyone was either looking at each other, but not daring to speak.

"I really don't see how we're going to get Acme Falls back," said Rita, breaking the silence. "They've got us under their very noses and a giant ogre no less."

"Yup, yup, defiantly." Runt pitched in.

Dr. Scratchensniff scratched his head. "Zey are right. Ve vould have to pull off a miracle to regain control. Besides, vat is the goal, here, anyvay?"

Slappy stomped her foot on the ground. "To get those bumbling bozos off our property and out of our lives!"

Plotz shushed her. "Do you want them to find out that we're here? You'll get us all killed!"

Slappy took a step forwards. "If we don't start gettin' serious, we're all as good as gone."

"_Excuse_ me, "said Hello Nurse, all eyes turning to her. "But I've just been wondering- where are the kings and queen?"

People started muttering, looking around, but not finding anyone.

"That's right! I heard they were absent from the list…"

"They aren't here!"

"Where could they be?"

Brain stepped up onto a broom propped up against the dirty wall. "If I could have everyone's attention, please. I believe that I have found a rather interesting clue." He held up a tiny mouse- sized handful of black hairs.

"Narf! What is it, Brain?" Pinky was jumping up and down with excitement.

"If my calculations are correct, this is DNA residue of Wakko Warner, left here not too long ago. I found it caught in the latch of the trapdoor above us." He pointed to the cracked and aged trapdoor that the moonlight was creeping through.

Skippy cocked his head to one side. "They were here?"

"Only days ago." Brain nodded.

"But what were they doing?" Plotz voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"Who knows, who cares." Minerva shrugged off the subject with an eye roll. Everyone glared at her in return.

"Ze Varners may be zany und crazy, but zey were ze best thing that ever happened to Acme Falls." Scratchensniff said angrily.

"Yeah, you might wanna think about what you say about the people that are in charge of you, blondie." Slappy cracked her knuckles.

Minerva waved her hand. "Big whoop. They aren't in charge of me anymore. The Ticks are. They're in charge of _all_ of you, and I bet if the Warners were still here, they wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. After all," Minerva shifted her weight. "They are just, you know, kids."

Skippy huffed and crossed his arms. "So?"

"So wherever they are, they probably won't last long. I mean, they aren't exactly the bravest of heroes. They didn't even care enough to stay here with their kingdom and go down with the ship. They probably took off because they were afraid. And now we're all standing here, breaking our backs to tear down our kingdom and build a worse on in its place while they take a little vacation." Minerva slumped back against the wall, crossing her arms. "That's all I'm saying."

Plotz didn't want to even think that something Minerva Mink said made sense, but he knew she was somewhat right. If the Warners had left to do God knows what, there wasn't even the slightest chance that they would consider coming back. There was a gigantic ogre guarding the place for one thing. They'd never get past the gate without getting crushed and/or clubbed. Somehow, it seemed like they had just disappeared and weren't returning anytime soon.

Plotz shook his head. "Okay, so the Warners are missing. I know they're the kings and queen, but at least they won't be able to bother us with what we need to focus on- getting our town back.

"So… any ideas?"

Once again, you could've heard a pin drop. People looked down, fiddled with their clothes or became suddenly interested in their fingernails. All until one small voice spoke up.

"Mr. Plotz, sir?" Plotz felt someone tugging on his sleeve. He looked down, to see Skippy looking up at him.

"Not now, Skippy, I'm in the middle of-"

"I know, and I'm helping you. I know how we can do this." He said, turning to the group. "Together we can get our old town back, Tick free. We're just going to need a little help…"

….

_Snap! _Wakko winced as he stepped on yet another twig, breaking it in two and sending one of the halves painfully deep into his foot. Wakko tried not to curse as he shook his leg to get it out, hopping on one foot. This had to be like the fifth time it had happened- in the last hour. And amazingly enough, that wasn't the worst part of their little trip so far.

He had lost count of how many tree branches had slapped and scratched his face, along with the rocks he stubbed his toe on. Then there were the tree roots he tripped over. Oh, and the fact that it was below freezing. He could see his breath in the still air while his teeth were chattering.

_Let's face it- I'm not an outdoors-y type person,_ he thought.

For once, Wakko wished he had someone to talk to. He was getting bored of staring at the ground all day, watching for twigs and roots. But unfortunately everyone was occupied. Rosetta and Dot had been talking about boys or clothes or something, and Yakko and Cassie could be heard talking and laughing about something one minute and arguing about it the next.

Wakko sighed dramatically. _The middle child never gets any attention._

He felt like they'd been walking for hours and he'd had nothing to do but hurt himself. What kind of a mission _was_ this? He still didn't even know where they were going.

Oh, yeah. Tauntwood. Wakko had to admit that he was kind of scared. It was like he was just now realizing that he was miles away from his home. He had never really been outside of Acme Falls. Except for when his parents had taken them on that vacation to a beach when they were young, and Dot hadn't even been born yet; but he could barely even get a fuzzy memory. It kind of annoyed him when Yakko talked about it to him, all the funny times they had had, how many girls he'd taught Wakko to hit on. Sometimes Wakko just didn't want to hear it. Yakko acted like he knew everything and it got on his nerves.

_Oh, whatever. Yakko's always talking. _Wakko stopped thinking to listen, and yep, he was yakking on about something or other. Everybody liked him because he was smooth and quick to make a joke.

_So he can say words. Big fat deal. _

Then Dot was always the cute one, the impoooooooossibly cute one. And she sure did use it to her advantage. Sure, occasionally Wakko could weasel his way in or out of something, but all she had to do was bat her eyelashes and say please. It wasn't fair. Wakko really didn't like thinking about his siblings like this; he loved them, and they loved him back. But sometimes he just had to wallow in his misery; thinking about how being the middle kid sucked was just another way Wakko solved his problems.

And that was another thing no one understood about him; he was always thinking. There seriously wasn't a moment that thoughts weren't going through his head, even if some of them were crazy and weird. It hurt that some people thought he was the dumb one. He wasn't dumb! Sometimes he thought he was even smarter than his older brother. Wakko kicked at a rock, ignoring the stabbing pain. He vowed from this day forward to speak up and not be left out anymore- Wakko the dumb had left the building.

"We're here."

Rosetta snapped him out of his coma, and Wakko looked up. They had all stopped walking and they were standing around a miniscule little sapling.

"Your homebase is a tiny tree?" Dot crossed her arms, looking skeptical.

Rosetta shook her head. "Just hold on a sec. I'm trying to…" she pushed her hair behind her ear as she knelt down, feeling her hands around the dirt, searching for something invisible. Wakko looked at Yakko and they both shrugged.

"Ugh, finally!" Wakko heard Rosetta say. He wasn't really looking at her (which was a first); he was staring around at the trees, watching birds, when he suddenly heard this weird noise that sounded like a huge refrigerator opening.

At first, he didn't believe what he saw.

For starters, a whole patch of the ground had completely folded over, forming a square opening in the ground, leading to someplace underground. The opening was dark, and Wakko couldn't see anything below it. But then he saw a whole staircase unfolding, leading way down beneath them, into the dark.

Wakko looked around to the rest of them. Yakko Dot and Cassie looked completely dumbfounded, but Rosetta let her three Lupacai go first, before she started to step down herself.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"… An explanation for breaking the laws of physics?" Yakko said.

"Just get down there before someone sees us." Rosetta gestured downwards.

Wakko glanced at Dot. "Ladies first."

Dot glared at him, but she cautiously made her way down the stairs. After a couple of seconds, everyone waited until they heard Dot exclaim, "No way!" her voice sounded faint but excited.

"Wait for me!" Yakko said, diving in after her.

Cassie looked at Wakko. "Here goes nothing." She stepped in after Yakko.

Having no more time to put it off, Wakko ambled slowly down the stairs. While his eyes were adjusting to the darkness, he heard Rosetta getting in, and then the door of ground slamming shut behind them, engulfing them all in darkness. But when his eyes adjusted, Wakko saw faint lights of different colors flashing and shining all around him. He saw his siblings and Cassie standing in the middle of a humongous room.

Wakko gasped. They were inside one of the coolest underground headquarters of all time.

There was a first floor, with computerized mechanisms all over the place. Wakko saw people sitting down, typing or working on important-looking projects. There was a big screen at the end of a long, wide hall which had a map of some place Wakko had never seen before, which he guessed was Tauntwood. There were little red dots all scattered over the map that moved in different directions every five seconds. Then there was a big circular table with a bunch of young adults all seated around it, talking seriously.

There was also a second floor on top of them, with a circular balcony that swirled above their heads, which had pretty much the same stuff, like the computers and machines and everything. There were glass walls that lead to other rooms, like one with people inside them practicing martial arts or something. Wakko smiled in awe as a teenage guy kicked the head clean off a plastic dummy, knocking it against the wall and rolling on the floor. Cool!

Most of the people walking around the place were teenagers and young adults, the youngest being maybe fourteen and the oldest being somewhat twenty five. Some were carrying papers and some were holding wicked-looking weapons like guns and harpoons. Wakko smiled even bigger than before.

_Forget being a king. This is the coolest place in the world!_

Rosetta just about read his mind. "Pretty cool, isn't it?" She grinned at their stunned but excited expressions. Even Cassie looked impressed.

"This is awesome!" Dot exclaimed. "I feel like we're in Charlie's Angels!"

Rosetta was about to say something, but a teenager, who was short for her age, walked up to her. "Hey, Rosie. Glad you're back, but Jared's looking for you, and he's not happy."

Rosetta rolled her eyes. "Just tell him that I'm back and that I found some very important information. And there's some people I need him to see."

The girl nodded. "Okay- just stop running off like that! He gets really annoyed when you just disappear, and that's the last thing we need around here."

Rosetta slipped off her bag and handed it to her friend. "Whatever. He can't tell me what to do."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, technically-"

"Just go, please!" Rosetta pointed to her left.

"Right, okay." Her friend scurried off, as if afraid Rosetta was going to scream at her.

Yakko turned to her. "Who's Jared?"

Rosetta looked ahead of her, and then slapped a hand over her face, pointing with her other hand towards someone. "That's Jared."

Everyone circled around to get a look at him. He was a guy in his early twenties, with wavy blonde hair and tan skin, kind of like Rosetta's. He was wearing a tight black muscle shirt and jeans, and he was walking towards them, a stern look on his face.

Dot fanned herself and jumped into his arms. "Hellooooooo, Alex Pettyfer!"

The guy, Jared, looked at Dot like she was a cockroach he found in his bed, "What the-"

"Shhhh." Dot put a finger to his lips. "Don't speak. Let's just enjoy this moment…"

Jared pulled Dot off of him, set her on the ground and then looked at Rosetta. "Oh, ha ha, very funny. You disappear for a week and then bring me back a bunch of freaks and weirdos."

"Jared-" Rosetta started.

"And who are _you_ calling us freaks and weirdos?" Cassie said.

"I'm Jared Claythorne, head and leader of the Resistance."

Cassie shrunk back slightly. "Oh."

Jared crossed his arms. "Yeah, 'Oh'. You might want to watch where you drag that big mouth of yours. You never know who you're going to end up talking to."

Dot hugged on to his leg. "Yeah, don't talk to my future husband like that!"

Jared shook his leg. "Will you get off!" He looked at Rosetta. "What were you thinking? I _told _you to wait here while I was gone, but when I got back, you had just left. Do you think it's funny? To just disappear and come back and say, 'Hey everyone! I brought random people from outside of Tauntwood!'."

Rosetta started, "It wasn't like that, they're-"

"Not staying." Jared dismissed the subject and started to walk away.

"Jared!" Rosetta yelled. "They're from Acme Falls!"

Jared stopped and turned around. "This had better not be a joke."

"Of course! We _never _joke around." Said Yakko. "I'm Yakko!"

Wakko knew what to say. "I'm Wakko!"

Dot stood up straight, making a mock curtsy. "And I'm Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III! You can call me Dot. But call me Dottie, and you die."

"We're the Warner brothers!"

"And the Warner sister!"

Wakko and his sibs threw their arms around each other and smiled. Jared stayed in a creeped out expression. "And who's your friend?"

Cassie tossed back her hair. "Cassie Bennett. Not so nice to meet you."

Rosetta stepped in. "Jared, you have to believe me-"

"Rose, I'm sorry, but I just can't deal with this right now. You're just gonna have to go back to wherever you came from." Jared turned to them with an expression like stone.

"Yeah. Can't do that." Yakko said.

"What do you mean?"

Cassie smirked. "He means that they're the kings and queen of Acme Falls."

It was like he was experiencing the feeling of surprise for the first time. "What?"

"Yeah, 'What'. You might want to watch who _you're _talking to, as well. Besides, I don't think it's a good idea to go around ordering people to go back to where they came from without asking them who they are first. It's sort of classified as 'anti-social', if you know what I mean."

Jared threw his hands up in the air. "Okay, I get it!" He looked at Rosetta who smiled innocently. "So, again, why are they here?"

Rosetta looked straight at Wakko. "Wakko can tell you."

Wakko heart sank. He didn't really like to talk very much, but then again, he'd do anything for Rosetta, of course! So he related to the story of how they'd been attacked by a giant, and ended with them arriving here, in the huge hi-tech spy room.

When he was done, Jared looked at Rosetta again, glaring at her. "Fine, they can stay."

The Warners jumped for joy, hopping up on Jared and giving him a big kiss on the lips while Rosetta and Cassie almost fell down from hysterical fits of laughter.

Jared ripped the Warners off of his face. "Gross! Don't ever do that again."

Yakko crossed his arms. "No promises, Jarhead."

"Don't call me that. Now I said you can stay for a _little while._ So don't get too comfy. Besides, while you're here, I could definitely use some help around here."

Wakko hopped up and down. "Do you want us to shoot people with guns and go on top secret missions and blow things up?"

"No."

Wakko's face drooped. "Darn."

"Whatever. Rose, go… show them their rooms or something. I'm busy right now." He pushed past them and started making his way to the big table at the end of the hall. He yelled over his shoulder, "And don't let them touch anything!"

Dot turned to Rosetta and smiled. "You're gonna let us touch stuff, aren't you?"

Rosetta shook her head and motioned for them to follow her. "Nope, sorry. I can't really let you into any of the dangerous rooms or anything, because you might either blow yourselves up, or blow all of us up. Whichever comes first."

Wakko had to jog to keep up with her because she was walking so fast, past rooms and machines, turning corners. "But that's the fun of it!"

"Wakko, I can't. Jared may be the most annoying big brother in the world, but I have to listen to him. What he says goes around here. He's the one who runs this place."

Yakko paced behind her. "Really?"

"Yup. He's been a part of the resistance ever since he was fourteen and ever since our dad died in the war, he's been one of the best fighters here. That's why he was chosen to be the leader. He's strong, I guess."

Wakko looked up at a picture on the wall, of a younger-looking Jared in his mid-teens, breaking a wooden board in half with his hand. "No kidding."

Rosetta nodded. "He was fourteen and I was eight. Our dad had died and we were all alone until we found the resistance underground. So we moved down here. Everyone up above us thinks we escaped or died. But we're still here, and- Oh, here we are."

….

Rosetta stopped and so did the rest of them, standing in front of a metal door with a sleek pad on the front. Rosetta put her hand on it, waited a few seconds for it to scan her handprint and then the door slid open, revealing a small room with two sets of bunk beds.

Wakko jumped in first. "I get the top!"

Yakko came rushing after him. "No way, I _always_ get the top! You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead, nonliving hands."

"It's on!"

Cassie rolled her eyes and looked at Dot as they heard the boys grunting and yelling, wrestling on the floor. "Boys. Go fig." they both said simultaneously.

Rosetta tucked her hair behind one ear. "Okay, here you are. I'll see you guys at dinner, in the mess hall, two doors down to the right. 6:30 sharp. Don't be late."

Cassie threw her bag against the wall. "Don't worry. We wouldn't be late for a whole hour of sitting down and conversing with you and that charming brother of yours." Dot elbowed her in the ribs.

Rosetta rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room, slamming her fist on the scanner so that the door shut.

Wakko looked up from his bottom bed. Unfortunately, Yakko had won the wrestling contest. "Are you seriously this good at annoying people? You're my hero!"

Cassie snorted. "It's a gift." She said.

Dot gasped. "That's what I always say!" she hugged Cassie around the waist. "I love this girl!"

"Great, that makes two of us." Cassie said. She flopped back on the bottom bed and gave a long sigh. "Wow, these are soft."

The Warners tried out their beds as well. They all sighed dramatically. "This isn't so bad for a rebel camp." Yakko admitted.

"It's faboo! I can't wait to try out that cool gun!" Wakko said.

Dot scoffed. "You're the last person on earth I would trust with a weapon like _that, _Wakko."

Wakko rolled over on his pillow. "Well, I can dream can't I?"

Yakko stretched out and yawned. "Speaking of dreaming, I'd say that it wouldn't kill anyone if we took a little siesta. I'm beat."

Everyone else mumbled their agreement. Cassie had to admit that the trip they had taken was probably the longest time she had walked without stopping in her life. She closed her eyes and fell into complete blackness. Before they knew it, they were all fast asleep.

….

Rosetta punched the scanner, making the door shut and then whipped around, cursing under her breath. _God, that girl annoys me! Who does she think she is? What did I ever do to her, the jacked up little…_

Rosetta was fuming, running into people and knocking papers out of their hands as she stormed up the stairs to the second floor. _She thinks she's so high and mighty because she hangs out with the kings and queen… I'll bet that stupid diamond she wears isn't even hers; probably stole it, anyway._

Rosetta's heat suddenly pounded out of her chest. She had just remembered something, something that she never should have forgotten. _Of course! That's why they were chasing them; it's why she can't get hurt, why the bullets didn't hit her! I can't believe I didn't see it before!_

Rosetta whirled around, almost tripping all the way down the stairs. She changed directions, running all over the place; through groups of people, past glass walls, over the ugly carpets that she had always hated so much. She had to get to Jared and tell him.

At long last, she finally found him in the control room. He was pressing buttons and saying stuff into a headset. Rosetta ran in, accidentally knocked his half-finished cappuccino over in the process. She ripped his headset right off his head so that he would hear her.

"Rosetta, what the hell are you-"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, just listen to me!" Rosetta almost didn't realize that she was yelling.

"This had better be-"

"It is!" Rosetta grabbed her brother's arm and yanked him down to her height, pulling him closer so that no one would hear. "Listen."

"What?"

"You remember that tall girl with the brown hair, Cassie, right?"

"Yes. We met not two seconds ago, why?"

Rosetta pulled him lower, whispering in his ear. "She's got the Jewel of Ticktockia."

**Dun dun duhhhhh! Wow, my cliffhangers are even getting on MY nerves. I'll have to fix that, because there's plenty more where that came from. Please R&R (no that does not mean rest and relaxation) and have a nice day! Or night! Whatever time period you are in! :) Peace. **


	10. Girls Night Out

**Hey guys. Chapter 9. Yes. It has come. ;)**

**(Warners jumps into my arms.) **_**And so have we!**_

**Me: Gah! Don't do that.**

**Yakko: **_**Aw, c'mon let us have a little fun! We already had to walk all the way up here just to appear in this author's note. We're getting paid, right?**_

**Me: Not likely.**

**Wakko: **_**Ugh. Well at least get us the solid gold golf cart we want to badly!**_

**Dot: **_**Yeah. That's really the only thing we ask of you.**_

**Me: I told you guys it's not in the budget!**

**Sigh, okay I've got to do some "babysitting" right now so go ahead and read.**

**Dot: **_**BABYsitting?**_

**Chapter 9- Girls Night out **

Cassie thought she was going to die of excitement. They had been staying at the Resistance for nearly three days and she'd already come close to death at least five time. It was awesome! This place had everything.

A training room, rock wall, basketball court, shark tank, an archery room and, an indoor, of course, swimming pool. It was like the dangerous life Cassie had always wanted all rolled up into 3.4 square miles of pure underground paradise. She'd already tried everything, well, except for the shark tank. Even she had her standards. Yakko had had to drag Wakko away to keep him from diving in.

It was the third day and Cassie was already on her way to dinner with Dot. Dot was talking about… well, Cassie didn't even know anymore.

"And he said I _couldn't _beat him, and I said sure I can, so I sat down and arm wrestled him for four straight minutes, and then he just cheats and wins! So I gave him a 'makeover'. And he gets mad! Can you believe that?"

"Yes."

Dot pouted. "Well at lest he looked adorable. But still not as cute as me, of course."

"Now that would have been a catastrophe."

"Got that right."

Dot pushed open the double doors and they both walked into the mess hall. It was basically just a big room with twelve long tables piled high with the food they had "borrowed" from up above. Dot ran off to eat with the popular kids, mostly cute teenage boys and jealous teenage girls who Dot was ready to make green with envy.

Cassie scanned the room for Yakko and Wakko, who were sitting at the far end of table number three. Wakko was having a pizza eating contest with another guy and there were his new friends all sitting around him, chanting, "Go! Go! Go!" as he ate slice after slice.

Cassie rolled her eyes. _Do I have to solve everything?_ She started to take a step forward before someone caught her arm.

"Hey Cassie. Can I talk to you?"

_Oh God. Again? _Cassie faced Rosetta, who judging by the look on her face, did not want to talk to her at all. _What's wrong with her? She's been asking me to sit with her for three days!_

"Uh, well, I'd love to but… I have to go… Oh fine."

"Great!" Rosetta put on this perky smile that Cassie wasn't buying one bit. She dragged her over to the table farthest from Yakko and Wakko and almost threw her into the chair. Looking up, Cassie saw three other girls who weren't talking, as if they had been waiting for Rosetta to kidnap her and drag her here against he will.

"Hey!" said an Indian girl with straight hair down to her hips. "Casey, right?"

"Um, it's Cassie."

A stocky girl with curly red hair twirled her fork in her spaghetti. "OMG, we heard that you were the one who came here with the Warners, right? That's so cool."

"Thanks." Cassie was so confused about what was going on. These overgrown five-year olds were Rosetta's friends? Well, she wasn't surprised. But seriously, this was what Rosetta had wanted them to meet for? It didn't seem at all real.

The redhead flipped her curls. "So, I'm Danielle. This is Anisa." The Indian girl waved.

Rosetta sat down in her chair and scooted up. "So you like the Resistance so far, right?" she and the other two girls stared at her.

"Ye- well, it's okay, I guess." Cassie grabbed a glass of water and took a sip. "The shark tank is pretty cool."

"Oh, Charlie? He's harmless. He's a nurse shark, he can't hurt you. We're just using him to test marine biology and stuff like that." Danielle tapped her fingers on the table. "Plus he's helping us design our submarine."

Cassie was suddenly interested. "You guys are building a submarine?"

Anisa nodded. "We have lots of prototypes but we're getting around to it. Jared's interested in the way a shark moves, so he's basing the outline of it off of that. But seriously, enough about submarines. I wanna know about you!"

"Yeah, how did you ever get so pretty?" Danielle rested her face on her hand, smiling.

Cassie blushed. "Oh, you know… beauty tips from Dot, I guess."

"Omigosh!" the girls exclaimed, yelling and laughing. "Dot is so _cute_!"

Cassie laughed nervously. "Yeah…" These girls were seriously freaking her out.

Rosetta joined in. "No way, Wakko's cuter!"

That set them off again. "Yeah! It's so cute how his tongue sticks out!"

"I know right?"

Danielle turned to Cassie. "God, you are so lucky to be able to hang out with him."

"Yeah, Yakko too." Anisa giggled. "Do you… do you think he would go out with me?"

Cassie almost threw up. She wanted to say yes at first, because obviously Yakko would love to date anything that had hips and hair. But she didn't think even he could survive the giggly torture. She didn't know how she was.

Before she could answer, Danielle elbowed her friend in the ribs. "Shut up!"

"What?" Cassie asked.

"Sorry, Anisa's just being tactless." Danielle glared over at her. "She should know better than to try and ask out your boyfriend."

Rosetta did a spit take and Cassie dropped the fork she was eating her salad with. She considered gagging but she started laughing too hard. "He's not my boyfriend!" she gasped between laughs. Rosetta sheepishly wiped up the water she had sprayed.

"Yes he is. He's always talking about you." Anisa said, wiping water off her hair.

Cassie raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to have to talk to him about that. But whatever he says, we're not going out or anything. I just came with them to help them out with the problem with Acme Falls."

"Okayyyyy…"

"Whatever you sayyyyyy…" They sang.

Cassie rolled her eyes. She was not going to sit down and listen to this "Well, if we're done here." She got up and pushed in her chair.

"Wait!" Rosetta suddenly said. She looked back at her friends and they nodded. Cassie was about to explode. What the heck was going on here?

Danielle pushed away her plate. "What are you doing tonight?" she asked.

Cassie shrugged. "Sleeping."

They broke into their girly giggling again. Cassie just waited for them to finish. _Let them have their fun, _she thought. _The obviously need it._

"Honey," Anisa said, getting up. "Get ready for the night you've been waiting for."

Danielle and Rosetta followed. "We're going to have the time of our lives. So let's go!"

Danielle grabbed her hand. Cassie immediately ripped it out. "Wait, _hold on!_" What if I don't want to go out and have fun? I have plenty of stuff I'd rather be doing tonight."

Rosetta looked exasperated. "Oh, like hanging out with Tweedle dumb, Tweedle dumber and Alice in Wonderland?"

Cassie looked over at Yakko and his sibs. Dot had her face glued on top of some other guy's, Wakko was on the floor, having passed out from eating a ton of food and Yakko was in the hands of a bunch of girls, obviously enjoying the attention. She felt a stab of anger and Rosetta's comment but realized that yeah, she was a bit tired of their crazy antics and weirdness. She also remembered that she had never gone out like a real teenager to just have fun once in her sad life.

Looking back, she'd never even at least _tried _to have fun… She'd always been the one who had to take one for the team and do everything herself. Being independent was sometimes a pain in the ass and Cassie had just decided that she needed a break from it all. Even if it was with half the cast of Pretty Little Liars.

"Okay. I'll come. Where to?"

Danielle clapped. "Yay! There's a night club down town that we sometimes sneak off to. Nobody recognizes us anymore so we don't have to go in disguise, finally. Just don't tell Jared… or really anybody else around here, and you're officially in the group! You look like you need a night off anyway."

Cassie didn't even really hear her. "Okay, fine. Sounds great."

"Hey, I forgot my purse," Anisa turned back and started to walk to the table again.

Danielle started walking with her. "I'll go with you."

They left Cassie and Rosetta behind in an awkward silence. Rosetta kicked at an empty soda can. Cassie nonchalantly fiddled with her hair.

Then it happened. "Cassie, I'm sorry. I'm really, really truthfully sorry, okay?" Cassie blinked. _First the silent treatment and now this? What, is she bipolar?_

"I know we got off on the wrong foot and all but I think we should take this opportunity to start over. I'm sorry." Rosetta stuck out her hands.

Cassie rolled her eyes on the inside. _Sure why not?_ "Me too." They were pulled into an awkward hug. People around them started to stare; she had only been here for three days but Cassie knew that most of the people here knew that they couldn't stand each other. So to see them hugging in the middle of the mess hall must have been quite a show.

Anisa and Danielle were suddenly back with the purse. "Ready?"

Rosetta and Cassie broke apart like they'd been electrically shocked. "Uh huh!" Cassie said.

"Then let's go!" And Cassie let them drag her slowly out the door.

….

Wakko groggily woke up from what seemed like a coma. "Ugh… what happened?"

He sat up and held his head, almost physically feeling his migraine. He looked around, remembering he was in the mess hall. Now it was deserted and empty, with trash scattered all over the place. Wakko pulled a slice of pizza off his back. "Yakko?"

Wakko slowly stood up, his legs wobbling, and walked over to his limp brother who appeared to be fast asleep on the table. Wakko looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 1:30 in the morning. Looking back at him, Wakko poked Yakko on the shoulder. "Wake up."

Yakko mumbled something like, "Yeah, I'm single…" in his sleep, and he rolled over.

Wakko poked and shook him. "Yakko! Wake up already!" He seemed to be a really deep sleeper.

Wakko didn't mean to but he got so fed up he shook his brother so hard that he rolled over and fell off the table. "OW!"

Wakko took a few steps back and watched as Yakko slowly pulled himself up. "Hey Yakko. Why are you on the floor?"

"Nice try, sib. Next time, a simple 'Wake up' will do." He said irritably. Yakko rubbed his eyes and sighed. "What time is it?"

"Like one thirty. We should go to bed." Wakko said, stretching out.

"Yeah, I'm tired." Yakko muttered. He put his hands in his pocket but looked down in confusion. "What's in here?"

Wakko stopped and watched as Yakko pulled out a bunch of crumpled up pieces of paper. Wakko picked one up that he dropped, unfolded it and said, "Hey, it's a girl's phone number!"

Yakko kept on digging out more papers. "It's the motherlode!" He smiled, holding them up and unfolding them. "Boy am I gonna have fun tonight."

Yakko took off down the hall in the other direction. Wakko yelled after him, "Hey, I thought you said you were tired!"

"Not anymore!"

….

Rosetta sat down. "So are you having fun?" she said.

Cassie put a hand to her ear. "What?" the music was way too loud.

"Never mind!" she yelled.

They were sitting at a black table with blood red leather seats around it like a booth. Cassie had to admit the club wasn't that bad. There was a DJ, some dancing. But she wasn't enjoying this 100%. She felt like an outsider, like she didn't belong here. And maybe she didn't.

For one thing Anisa and Danielle kept drinking. They didn't seem likely to stop anytime soon. And they were like what, fifteen? Sixteen?

_Of all the moronic beings on planet earth, why these two?_ She thought. _Why ME?_

Danielle returned from the bar to the far right of the club, holding yet another beer. "Hey." She laughed.

Cassie tried to fake a smile but even that seemed impossible right now. Danielle tripped and fell over onto the seat next to her, laughing again. "Whoops."

Rosetta got up suddenly. "I have to go," she said, before whipping around and running to the bathroom.

Danielle pushed the cup towards her. "Here. Go ahead."

Cassie looked up. "Are you kidding?"

Anisa joined them, popping out from behind a corner. She looked sweaty from dancing for the past two hours. "Hi guys. What are you-" she saw the beer on the table. She blinked, looking at Danielle, and then sat down. "What are you doing?" she finished.

Cassie pushed the cup away from her. "Not drinking, that's for sure."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because it would be the dumbest thing to do tonight, next to jumping off a cliff." Cassie crossed her arms, annoyed by their idiocy. Anisa rolled her eyes.

"Come on. You came all this way just to sit here and be a baby?" she said.

"I came all this way to have _fun_. And frankly, I'm not having _anything_ in here. This place is disgusting." She jerked her head to the booth behind them, and judging by the noises coming from it, the two back there had had a lot more to drink than Danielle and Anisa combined.

"I should have known. A thirteen year old wouldn't understand anyway." Anisa scoffed.

"Reverse psychology isn't going to work, Anisa." Cassie looked at her.

Anisa stared. "How the hell do you know everything?"

"I read. You don't. It's all pretty obvious." Cassie explained. "And if I know one thing, it's that I'm out of here." Cassie slid out of the booth, over the dozing Danielle, just before the redhead started vomiting under the table.

Cassie looked back. "Have fun with her." She said before storming out the doors of the club.

Anisa angrily yelled back. "How do you think you're even going to get back?"

"I'll find a way." Cassie said. She vowed to never speak to Rosetta again. This whole thing had been a setup to get her to do something that she wanted, Cassie was sure of it. But what it was didn't even matter. Cassie was getting out of here, and telling the Warners that they were leaving first thing tomorrow. The sooner they got out of the Resistance, the better. Rosetta had stooped low enough to run herself into the ground where she belonged.

And speaking of her- "Cassie where are you going?" Of course she had to pop up now.

"I'm leaving. Goodnight." Cassie tried to push past, but Rosetta blocked her path.

"Why are you leaving?" she asked.

Cassie tried to keep her voice level. "You want one reason or a thousand?" Too late.

"Cassie I know you don't like it here but please just stay. Just try?" Rosetta took out another beer. "Here you want a sip?"

"No."

Rosetta snapped out of her kind and gentle tone. "Come on you witch! Just drink it already! Wouldn't it make Yakko proud to see his little girlfriend do something mature for once?"

….

Yakko stumbled out, his vision blurred by feathers. He'd been kicked out of the girl's room almost five times before they had finally told him that they were going to dump him in the shark tank. When that didn't work, they'd beaten him with pillows until he was disoriented enough that they pushed him out and locked the door, swearing that they were never giving anyone their numbers again.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted. They were in PJs and everything!" Yakko sighed to himself. He guessed he going to go back to bed now that it was four in the morning. Yakko looked down the hallway which was pitch black except for a blue light above him. It got duller and duller as he walked away from it. Then it shut off and another one in front of him snapped on. _Cool. Automatic lights. This place has everything.  
><em>Still, the blue light was kind of eerie and gave him a shiver down his spine; Yakko suddenly realized that it was chilly, and he pulled his arms around himself. Yakko thought he heard someone walking behind him, but when he turned back, the noise stopped. Yakko slowly turned around and kept walking, this time faster. _Don't be a baby. You're too old to get scared by that stuff now._ He silently scolded himself.

But Yakko froze when he heard the walking noise again, this time right behind him. His heart pounded out of his chest when he heard a whisper. "Yakko?"

Yakko stayed silent before recognizing the voice. "Cassie?"

"Yeah."

Yakko exhaled the breath he'd been holding in. "God, don't do that! You scared me…"

Cassie laughed. "Sorry, I didn't think people were usually up this late just strolling around for no apparent reason."

"Okay little miss irritable, what are you doing up?" he asked.

Cassie hesitated before answering. "Well if you have to know…"

"Yes?"

Cassie scoffed. "It was stupid. Rosetta tried to "bond" with me or whatever and she took me out to a night club with her friends. Then they wouldn't let me leave and kept trying to get me drunk. Let's just say I didn't handle it well."

Yakko grinned. "What did you do?" he said in a singsong voice.

"I poured a beer down her shirt and smashed the bottle on the floor."

They both laughed. "Classy." Yakko said.

"Well she deserved it! She kept bossing me around. She even called me your- never mind." Cassie smile subsided. "Okay, your turn. What are _you _doing?"

Yakko decided it was best to keep the details to himself. "Oh, you know, just talking with some girls."

"Like you were 'talking' with those girls at dinner?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Yakko said to his feet.

Cassie narrowed her eyes in the dim light, getting closer to him. "Is that a slap mark?"

Yakko rubbed his still stinging cheek. "Feels like it."

Cassie snickered. "Well at least one of us got to do something fun tonight."

"Are you kidding? Besides all the drinking I would have loved to go to a night club. Were there any hot babes there?" he asked excitedly.

Cassie shook her head. "Well it's kind of hard to tell when they're throwing up in the corner, but no. And for the record, _ew!_" She playfully pushed him into the wall.

Yakko rubbed his shoulder now. "Ow! Jeez, you hit like a guy." He tried to hit her on the shoulder but when he did she just laughed.

"And you punch like a girl."

"Then we're perfect for each other," Yakko said, doing his sexy eyebrow thing.

"Normally I'd be annoyed by that but after tonight I'm exhausted and annoyed." Cassie sighed. "And by the way, you know all that stuff I said at lunch yesterday about you being the most annoying person ever? I take it all back."

Yakko pretended to gush. "You really mean it?" he asked.

"Not until that."

"I don't care. I know you like me." Yakko said, skipping ahead.

"You wish." Cassie ran ahead of him. "Are you trying to beat me back to the room?"

"That depends. Are you going to try to impress me by beating me back to the room?"

"I don't have to try to impress you Yakko. It just happens" Cassie smirked. "And I'm sorry, but you're already losing the race anyway." She whipped around and started running.

"Bring it on, bookworm!" Yakko zipped past her in a flash.

It all happened too quickly. They kept on slowing each other down by pushing and shoving. Then they started laughing and they couldn't stop. Finally they collapsed and took a break by somebody else's door while they caught their breath from laughing and running.

Yakko guessed that they had been too loud because some lady came out of her door and told them to shut up. They just started running away again, laughing and talking the whole way. Yakko thought about a lot of things after they reached the room and silently slipped into bed.

_Actually, I think right now is the most fun I've had all night. Next to the pillow fight of course. _

…

Rosetta entered Jared's room, still sticky, damp and irritated from having to drag a puking Danielle all the way home. Jared was still up, his eyes slowly closing then snapping open while he sat at his computer waiting for Rosetta to come back. When she did, he stared at her and sniffed.

"Why do you smell like-"

"Don't ask!" Rosetta raised her voice as she stormed in, throwing her purse on the bed. "It didn't work."

"How did it not work?" Jared asked. "Didn't I tell you exactly what to do?"

Rosetta angrily took a seat on his bed. "The girl's as stubborn as a mule. She didn't drink at all, didn't even dance, and then she just decided she could get up and leave. I tried to get her at the last second but she… never mind. The point is-"

"We're going to have to try out something new." Jared said, thinking already.

"Well no duh!" Rosetta exclaimed. "That stupid drinking idea was dumb anyway! Of course she wasn't going to do it! She's like fourteen!"

"And so are you. You shouldn't be drinking either."

"I'm fifteen and I wasn't drinking at all. The whole club idea was _yours _and it didn't work, Jared. Now she's even more suspicious of me than ever! What on God's green earth made you think-"

"That's enough!" Jared snapped, standing up from his chair. Rosetta looked up at him, scowling.

After a while, Rosetta asked, "Jared, why can't we just tell her?"

Jared sighed ran a hand through his unwashed hair. "Because there's a million things that could go wrong. She could not believe us. She could run away. She could use it against us, because no offense, but she hates you," he said, Rosetta glowering at him.

"She could try and destroy it-"

"That's impossible. It's indestructible." Rosetta said.

Jared shook his head. "There is one way… but only the true heir of the Jewel can do it. And we don't know who that is."

"It could be her." Rosetta pointed out.

"No," he said. "The true heir of the Jewel would begin to show signs of power at a young age. And so far Cassie hasn't shown any signs of anything."

"But Jared, if we get the Jewel, I don't think we'll be able to use it. She's been wearing it ever since birth. She's the lost kid from that story that Dad used to tell us, remember? She has a connection with it that we can't break. If we can get her to use it for us, then we can take down Griselda and save Warnerstock." Rosetta finished with a smile. "We won't have let Dad die in vain."

Jared thought about what his sister had said. Sure, it made sense. But would it work? "Okay." The words were out of his mouth before he knew it. "But even if we do decide to tell her… how would we do that exactly? How do you tell someone 'Hey! Your dad was the former leader of this resistance and he left you with a powerful crystal that can either destroy the world or save it! So could you please help us out with a really dangerous mission that could lead to certain death?'? It doesn't seem serious."

Rosetta stared at the floor. "Well even though I despise her, I think I have an idea of how we can break the news."

Jared leaned forward in his chair. "Go for it."

**And, cut! That's a wrap everyone.**

**Yakko: **_**Sheesh, it's about time. I'm going back to my trailer and finding a new agent.**_

**Me: Drama Queen.**

**Dot: **_**Whatever. Hey, Wakko, need a ride? **_**(beeps the horn)**

**Me: You bought a solid gold golf cart?**

**Wakko: **_**You wouldn't. Come on, let's go to the beach!**_

**YW: **_**Helloooooooo bikini wearing nurses!**_

**Me: What the- how did you even pay for that?**

**Yakko: **_**We used your credit card. Hope you don't mind.**_

**Dot: **_**Floor it! She's about to kill us!**_

**(Warners zoom away) **

**Arghhhhh well I need to go fix our current financial crisis right now (and do some re-casting) so buh bye sweethearts! PS I don't own any Animaniacs characters. Warner Brothers does. So sadly if I decided to get revenge on them I'd be in very big legal trouble. Well you try working with them! They're all divas. Anyway, thanks, hope you enjoyed and please review! See ya ;)**


	11. The truth comes out

_**Salutations my fans and adorers. Glad to see you've stuck with this story all the way up to chapter number 10! Though I don't know why you would… the writer is crazy. Oh, and this is Dot, by the way. Animania123's off doing I don't care, so I'm hosting this chapter. And it's a good thing too, because I'm sure you guys all miss me because I didn't have like ANY parts in the last chapter! I am so getting a new agent. Anyways, I need to start the story; so buckle up and try not to be distracted by my cuteness. Here goes nothing!**_

**Chapter 10- The truth comes out**

Dot jumped off the diving board. "Cannonball!"

But instead of landing in water, she landed right on top of Jared's head. "Hey!"

Dot slid into his arms. "C'mon. Don't pretend like you don't love it." She kissed him really hard on the face and then sprang off before he could get ahold of her. "Seeya later Jarhead!"

It was another ordinary day. Sort of. And that meant that Wakko and Dot were running around and annoying every person that stood in their path!

But something felt wrong. Dot slowed down as she ran alongside Wakko. "Hey where's Yakko? And Cassie for that matter?"

Wakko slowed to a stop and rested against a wall. "They're sleeping in 'cause they stayed up all night."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's a teenager thing." Wakko shrugged.

Dot shook her head. "I'll never understand teens."

Just then a handsome young boy walked past and Dot and she gushed. "But I sure like to look at 'em!"

Wakko rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. I'm starved."

Dot nodded and followed him to the cafeteria. "When are you not starved?"

"The world may never know." Wakko smiled, his tongue sticking out at one side like always. Dot chuckled. She would never admit it but she was really glad to just be hanging out with her other brother without Yakko for one day. He was a pain in the butt, sure, but he was just as good a brother as Yakko was. Dot sometimes forgot how much she cared about him when they weren't arguing or something.

Before she knew it, Dot was hugging him tightly. "Dot!" Wakko said. "Earth to Dot. You're hugging me and not wearing protective gloves."

Dot broke off. "Sorry. I'm just all emotional right now. Which is why I must eat!" she burst through the doors and looked around to see what they had. It was pizza again. Goodness, they really needed to expand their menu.

….

Rosetta motioned with her hands. "That's not the way it goes. More to your left. Your left, Cassie. Now up. Down a little bit mo-"

"I got it."

Cassie's knuckles turned white as she gripped the wrench as hard as she could. Rosetta was getting on her last nerve and she'd literally just woken up. _Not a good idea, sister._

Rosetta had apologized for the night before and said she was just trying to "have a little fun." By this point Cassie was too tired to even try to argue so she had said okay and tried to go back to bed. Then of course Jared butted in and had asked her to help Rosetta start building the submarine. So here she was at noon, in the mechanics room, being told where to screw this and where to tighten that. _I'd _really _like to tighten that girl's-_

"Hey, let's take a break." Rosetta poured the screws back into their pack and she sat down on the bench, wiping the sweat off her brow. Cassie didn't protest at all, still being groggy from staying up that late; she plopped down on the bench way on the other side of it without comment.

She felt up on her forehead and found that she was sweating too- no surprises there. Cassie guessed she smelled disgusting; the whole room was dank and humid, a furnace being at the end of it. She wished she had brought something to drink like Rosetta had but being dragged out of bed in two seconds flat didn't give her a lot of options. She tried to swallow as she watched Rosetta take a long swig from her water bottle.

Rosetta broke the silence after a while. "I guess once we get this done we can start heading off to Ticktockia again. I don't think we should go on foot."

Cassie smiled but on the inside she was thinking, _Yeah right. You, me and the Warners all together in one sub? Can you say chaotic? _"I guess so."

"… So how long have you known the Warners?" Just out of the blue, the questions were flying.

"For like a week. It's a long story I'd rather not bore you with, but in the end we decided to get our town back. It's already been taken over before, and saved. So who's to say we can't do it again, right?"

Rosetta looked away. "Wow. You act like you've known them forever."

Cassie quit jiggling her leg and looked up. "What do you mean?"

"It's just like you guys are so great together. You've done nothing but hang out and talk with them all week long. I feel like a… I don't know, third wheel or something."

Cassie narrowed her eyes and focused on her expression, but she didn't seem to be lying at all. "O…kay."

"And you're an only child, right?" Rosetta looked at her.

Cassie felt that uncomfortable twang in her heart that she usually had whenever someone asked her about her family. "Uh huh. Never had brothers or sisters. Or a mom."

"I know how you feel."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yes. I don't know about you, but Jared and I were raised with both parents until our dad left and went to the war. Then our mom just got so depressed while he was gone. She looked… different. She wouldn't talk as much, only whispered maybe two or three times a day. She stayed in bed and never went outside, never ate or drank. I was really scared but Jared was the one who was strong; he went out and got food for us and kept us safe from street thugs and the guards and stuff like that. We tried to get our mom to at least eat something once a day but she was getting weaker and weaker by the minute."

Cassie's face showed no expression. It was depressing; it was downright heartbreaking, yes. But Cassie was not going to burst into tears just because of a sob story. She crossed her legs and shifted slightly.

"And then one day…" Rosetta paused and swallowed. "One day she just fell asleep and never woke up. I cried for two weeks and Jared got even quieter. After a month of living by ourselves, he decided we should leave and try to make a run for it. In the middle of the night, we took off running and we found the Resistance. When he got older, Jared became the leader and… well here we are."

Cassie sat in silence, not meeting Rosetta's eyes. To any other person she would have said, "Oh, I'm so sorry! That must have been terrible! Want a hug?" But something was holding her back; maybe it was her ultimate hatred for her, maybe not. Cassie just wasn't feeling sorrow- at first. Until she started to think about it.

Well, Rosetta was a selfish jerk sometimes but Cassie realized that she might have missed something. The girl had lost a mom, a dad and had to live with a high maintenance older brother who acted like a neat freak. And Rosetta had put up with all that- and then Cassie had come in. In retrospect, she had been insulting and immature. A lot. Rosetta had tried to help them and she let them stay at the underground facility. And even though she would never, ever admit it, Cassie sort of enjoyed Rosetta's company. Just a teeny, tiny atom-sized bit.

"I'm sorry." she finally admitted. And she meant it.

"It's fine." Rosetta dismissed the subject and stood up, looking over the half-finished submarine. "I'd say we're about done for the day. Let's head out."

"Rosetta." Cassie said. She stopped on her way towards the door, looking back. "I meant sorry for everything. Like _everything_. I was really… really horrible. It's just- I never realized that you-"

"Hey, it's okay. I was just as much of a jerk as you were." Rosetta grinned. "And you seriously remind me of myself. I'm annoying, persistent, and really bad with dogs. Well, I used to be."

Cassie smiled. "So, can we forget… most of this happened?"

"Agreed." Rosetta slung her arm around Cassie's, making her feel dwarfed by comparison. Rosetta was even taller and skinnier than she was. "You could be the sister I always wanted."

Cassie laughed. "Awesome! I always wanted someone to borrow clothes, money and boyfriends off of."

"Don't get carried away now." Rosetta moved back over to the table and started cleaning up, putting nails away and wiping off scraps of metal. "Hey, can you help me? Jared's gonna kill me if he sees this mess later."

"No problem. But I'll charge you extra." Cassie said as she picked up a drill and lugged it back over to the shelf.

Cassie set the drill down not-so-gently on the top shelf. It felt a lot lighter than it had an hour ago. _Weird. It seemed like it weighed five thousand pounds and now it's suddenly it's a piece of plastic. _Cassie shook her head. _I'm losing my mind._

Shrugging it off, she bent down to pick up the other drill but before she could touch it, it started to float. It was floating. The drill was floating. All Cassie could think was …_ What?_

Cassie's eyes widened. The drill was two feet off the ground, hovering in space, and her hand was directly over it. Her jaw dropped and she tried to make a sound but nothing came out. She took a shaky step back and the drill clattered to the floor, making her jump.

"Hey, careful with those, they're all brand new." Rosetta warned. She was on the other side of the room, behind the shelf. Cassie could hear clashes and clanks of metal instruments being placed in drawers and in cabinets.

Cassie's hands were shaking. So were her legs. _Did I just make a drill levitate? _Cassie just stood there, in the middle of the room, staring at it.

Rosetta's voice rang out through the room. "Cassie?"

"I-" Cassie managed. She couldn't say anything else. And she was kind of glad. If she had just said, "Hey, I made a drill float into the air!" she wouldn't be the only one who thought she was crazy.

After some weird thoughts, she decided to tell Rosetta. Even if she was insane, she still needed someone to know about it. "Rosetta, th-"

She turned on her heel to make her way towards her but she smacked face first into a flying piece of metal. Cassie fell backwards on her back, groaning and clutching her forehead in pain.

"Was that a hubcap?" she muttered. She opened her eyes, hoping to see things that made sense. It was quite the opposite of that. First, there was not only one hubcap floating above her, but four. Then there were two drills, a rusty wrench, two screwdrivers and a bunch of little nails. They were all gliding around like moths, through the air. Cassie opened her mouth to say something but Rosetta beat her to it. "Cassie? What's going on?" Cassie carefully got up to her feet, ducking down to avoid another UFO.

"Rosetta- something's, um… gone wrong." Cassie said, looking around. She saw more things that were lying on tables and shelves start to shake a little then move slowly up into the air. _Oh, God, please no! _She didn't want anything else getting broken.

Cassie didn't know what to do. She couldn't explain it; she just felt the urge. She put up her arms as if conducting a choir, then forced them down in a sharp, quick motion. The objects, including the ones around her, all forced themselves down at the exact same time, slamming down on the floor. Cassie's mouth hung open again.

"What are you talking about?" Rosetta's voice was getting louder and closer. Pretty soon she came around the shelf, staring at her. She could only imagine the weird stance she was in, because Rosetta gave her a look. "Are you alright?"

"Peachy." Cassie said, using all her strength to keep the objects down. A trickle of sweat ran down her forehead. She put on what she hoped was a convincing smile. "I'm just tired. You know, staying up late last night and all that."

Rosetta had a guilty look on now. "Oh, yeah. You know what? You can go. I got the rest of this." She said, picking up a small iron tube. "You go ahead."

"Actually, I think I can help." Cassie knew she was going to regret this. "Um, promise you won't freak out if I do something really, really crazy?"

Rosetta nodded without question, which was mildly surprising. _Oh well, if she says so._

Cassie tried to make a subtle movement, but it ended up being too sharp. A million flying random things shot into the air and began to whirl around their heads. Cassie bent down for cover but Rosetta… smiled?

"Yes!" she cheered. "Yes, yes, you're doing it!" She looked around with joy, not even caring when a pointy nail pierced her arm.

"Doing what?" She yelled. The noise was deafening, with so many object chasing each other around, banging into boxes and knocking over other equipment.

"Look!" Rosetta pointed to her neck. Cassie looked down and saw her diamond but she immediately shut her eyes. It was glowing, bright. Brighter than ever before. She could still see the purple glow from behind her eyelids. Cassie squeezed her eyes shut tight, and covered her ears.

"Cassie get up! You're not controlling them! They're going haywire!" Rosetta yelled, dodging a diving wrench as Cassie opened her eyes and stood up.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Control them!" Rosetta said. "You can do it!"

"But what do you-"

An even louder noise came from the door slamming against the wall as someone entered the room. Cassie didn't have time to look up and see who it was- dodging and ducking required lots of effort.

"Who's making all that noise?" It was Jared- the non-happy voice had returned. Cassie rose up her arms but nothing happened. In fact, the tornado of hardware store appliances spun faster and faster in response. Jared looked around in shock.

"Don't worry, I can-" Cassie was cut off as a hammer collided with the back of Jared's head. She put her hands up to her mouth, gasping. Jared looked like he was going to pass out, and he almost did, if Cassie and Rosetta hadn't come to their senses and ran over to help him. Rosetta held his head up while he groaned softly. The objects and random tools in the air slowly died down, then dropping to the floor.

"Give me your hand." Rosetta said, stretching out hers.

"Wh-"

"Just do it!" Rosetta had snapped back into her irritated mood. Cassie gave up and stuck out her hand, letting Rosetta grab it and lay it on Jared's head. Cassie stared, not really caring why or what. She was now convinced that whatever had happened in the past two minutes was all a figment of her imagination, and when she woke up, everyone would tell her that she had fallen asleep and had a bad dream. She was sure of it. Come to think of it, she was actually feeling pretty sleepy. It had probably been staying up all night, she thought. But something told her this wasn't the average sleepiness. Cassie felt genuinely tired, worn out, weak, even. It was like she could feel energy draining out, right this second. Wait, what was happening?

Cassie focused her vision and saw a glowing purple light coming from her palm, which was laid on Jared's forehead. Jared's eyes suddenly opened and he sat up, looking better than ever. Cassie didn't know what in the world was going on, still; she almost fell down trying to get back up, she felt so tired. What kind of dream was this?

Rosetta helped her stand. "Congratulations, Cassie! You did it!"

"Did what?" Cassie mumbled. She was almost half asleep, her surroundings becoming big shadows and noises becoming more and more faint. Cassie put a hand up to her head, not even trying to listen to Rosetta's reply.

"You preformed a healing spell. Jared almost had a concussion, but you helped it go away! I can't believe it! You used your crystal!" Rosetta looked at her with excitement. "And you made all that stuff float up in the air! Cassie you know what this means?"

"No." Cassie shook her head, swaying on the spot.

"You're-" Rosetta's voice broke into soft blurred noises. Cassie's vision went black, and she remembered falling back on the floor before she completely passed into a deep sleep.

_**That's all folks! **_

**Dot. What on **_**earth **_**are you doing? I wake up to find myself locked in my room, and when I finally get myself out, I come and find you hosting my chapter. **_**My **_**chapter!**

_**See, what did I tell you? Crazy!**_

**Dot get out! I swear, you're more trouble than you're worth. **

_**And I'm worth a lot, right?**_

**That's debatable. **

_**I'm worth more than this entire story! And that's not a hard thing to do. But since you didn't give me a big part in the last chapter, I am forced to take drastic measures. Oh and one more thing! A special shout out to that one special author that Animania123 hearts with all her being! You're awesome and without your support she never would have gotten this far. So thanks a bunch! You know who you are. Wink wink.**_

**Thank you. Now kindly get out! (kicks her out the door) Sigh. Sometimes I just can't help myself. Oh well .Toodles to all you toonsters out there! Review please and I'll be your best friend!**

**(Yakko) **_**And if you're a hot fan girl, I'll be **_**your **_**best friend!**_

**Aghhh! I need a more efficient security system. And an aspirin. G'night everybody! (blows a kiss)**

_**Hey that's my thing!**_

**Deal with it. **


	12. Traitor

**Hiya toonsters! It's the one and only Buster Bunny, from Tiny Toon Adventures. And Animania123 asked me to host since I was in town and she didn't want any of the Warners barging in. Her words, not mine. Anyway-**

_**Buster, care to let your co-host join in?**_

**Babs? How did you-**

_**I have my ways. Besides, you didn't think you were gonna host **_**anything**_** without your best friend, right?**_

**I guess…**

_**Okey Dokey then. Let's get this show on the road! **_

**Full speed ahead!**

**Chapter 11- Traitor**

Cassie desperately tried to open her eyes. But they wouldn't go up. She seriously didn't have the strength to lift up her own eyelids. It was kind of scary, actually. She slowly realized that she couldn't move anything. She commanded her fingers to wiggle but they didn't. Neither did her toes. She was trapped in a world of silent blackness.

Cassie also realized that she was awake, but she just couldn't move anything. It was the weirdest feeling. She was just so tired. She decided she would go back to sleep since nothing was working. Somehow convincing herself that she would be able to move when she woke up again, she relaxed and tried to fall back into the deep coma she had awoken from.

That is, she would have if there hadn't been those annoying voices, whispering all around her. Cassie wished they would shut up and let her sleep; she was beyond exhausted. Staying up all night had been a bad idea- going to the night club. She should have known better than to trust Rosetta. Any idiot would have just walked away. But no, she had walked out the door, in the hopes that Rosetta might have actually shown signs of a truce. What a great idea _that _had been…

And that freaky nightmare she'd had just before she had woken up; the one with all the floating drills and crap. That had not been an average freaky nightmare. Cassie tried to remember drinking anything at all last night but she didn't recall. So if alcohol hadn't caused that dream- what had?

The voices were getting louder and clearer. Cassie realized that she was waking up instead of going back to sleep.

_But I'm so tired! Why won't they leave…_ Cassie wanted to moan.

"She moved." A voice directly above her said.

"What?"

"Look, look at her, she's awake. Go get Jared." The voice said. Cassie distinctly heard footsteps walking away from wherever she was laying down from. A door opened and several people came in.

"What's wrong with her?" it was Dot's voice now.

"Shut up, Dot, she can hear you." Wakko's voice seemed to be coming from next to her.

"Both of you be quiet!" Rosetta snapped. Cassie couldn't put it off any longer. With a lot of effort, she opened her eyes.

She was lying in a different bed from the one in her room- it looked like the same, but the walls were a different color and the window was on the other side of the room. Jared and two other boys his age were sitting in chairs by the door, the Warners standing next to them and Rosetta sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like a pretty princess." Cassie replied, even though she didn't. "What happened? Why am I in here?"

Rosetta shared looks with the others before turning back to her and answering her question with another question "You don't remember?"

Cassie looked at all of them. "All I remember was that I fell asleep after we went out last night. Then I had this insane dream about… well, you don't wanna know. And then I woke up." The others exchanged looks again. Cassie began to get angry. "What's wrong with you guys? Why won't you tell me what happened?" She tried to get up but her head throbbed and she was forced to lie back down again.

Rosetta looked at her with a kind of pity that Cassie found offensive. "You should rest some more."

"But I don't want to rest!" Cassie dug her nails into her palms. "If you guys don't start talking in five seconds-"

Jared sighed and turned away, looking at his friend. "I knew this would happen."

Cassie sat up in her bed, ignoring the pounding in her head. "The only thing that's happening right now is that you guys are being jerks. I want to know what's going on _right _now!" Cassie hadn't meant to yell, but her anger of not knowing what was going on was over the boiling point.

"Okay. I guess you deserve to know what's going on." Rosetta admitted. Cassie looked at her with grim satisfaction. _You bet your perfect little curls I do!_

"Okay… so, here's the thing." Yakko said. "That dream you had- well, it wasn't exactly a dream."

Cassie raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Meaning it actually happened. All of it." Dot explained.

Cassie stared at her. "What? No it didn't."

"Yes, it did." Jared said irritably. He seemed annoyed by this entire thing. "You made a drill float into the air. Then you made a bunch of other stuff do the same thing, darn near knocking me out in the process. Then you made me come to again with that crystal around your neck. And then you passed out."

Cassie gaped. "But…"

"Well there's more to this whole thing than just _that_." Rosetta said, rolling her eyes at her brother. "That crystal is the Jewel of Ticktockia. And right now, you're the one who's controlling it."

"Guys, come on. I don't know how you found out what my dream was about, but there's no freaking way-" Cassie fingered the cheap little diamond on the silver chain.

"It's true. You didn't dream any of that. And that diamond- It's the real deal." Jared said, standing up. "We…. er…. Don't know how you came to end up wearing it, but you're the current owner. And since you have been for fourteen years, then you're going to learn how to use it. With you, we can win this w2ar and free all the kingdoms that have been taken over-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down…" Cassie put her hand to her temple. All this confusing info was making her head hurt all over again. "You're saying that I can… control this thing? And it can do… what, magic or something?"

"Well, not so much magic, more than, like…. Yeah, that's pretty much it." Jared said.

Cassie looked down at the dinky little thing on her neck. No. No _way. _It was too… weird. "Uh… no offense, but I think you have the wrong confused person. I'm not a magical fairy, I can't do stuff like that-"

"But you did." Jared pointed to his forehead. "Remember?"

Cassie felt up to her forehead, wincing at the dull pain of a small bruise. She remembered that the hubcap had hit her there in her dream… or had that actually happened?

_Oh, my gosh- that DID actually happen! This is real! I can't believe it…_

Cassie fell back on her pillows. "So… all this time I could have gotten back at my Dad for being such a jerk? Wow, wish I could have figured this out a lot sooner." Yakko and Wakko snickered while Dot crossed her arms.

"Cassie, this isn't a joke. This is serious. There are still Ticks out searching for you." Cassie's smile disappeared.

"_What?" _

Yakko shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, yeah. We sort of figured that those guards at the waterfall weren't after us. They were after… you."

Once again Cassie was struck dumb. For a moment. "Me? Because…. Because of this?" she held up the jewel and it glowed brightly. Yakko nodded.

"But, I mean, they can't hurt you. No one can, really. The jewel makes you, like, invincible. That's why the bullets weren't hitting you, and when you sank into the water, the necklace slipped off so that's why you started to drown."

Cassie waved that off. "Yeah, yeah, I get that. I just… aren't I endangering you guys?" She looked at them. "With a couple hundred soldiers after me you guys look like side dishes. They'd take you down in a minute flat to get what they want- which is me. I can't do that to you. Any of you."

Rosetta shook her head. "That's just a chance we're going to have to take."

"But-"

Rosetta interrupted. "No buts. Just listen; if you're going to be the one to lead us in fighting Griselda and knocking her off her high and mighty throne- you're going to need to need some training on how to use that necklace. No offense, but those tools in the air were crazier than Yakko is for Michelle Pfeiffer."

They both looked over and Yakko got a dreamy look on his face. Rosetta rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you need experience. Because without you, well, we're stuck."

Cassie hesitated. "I don't know. This is all just really weird and crazy."

Rosetta stood up and started to go for the door. "Too late. You don't really have a choice. Meet me back in the mechanics room in five. We're going to teach you how to fight." She walked out and the door shut behind her.

"Wow," Cassie muttered. "That was totally uncalled for."

"I guess you all should leave now." Dot said, motioning for the door. "The girl needs to get ready and she doesn't need all the attention from you nosy people."

Cassie raised her eyebrows but let everyone else leave the room in silence.

"Gee, thanks. Now they think that I'm just as much as a diva as you are."

Dot jumped on her bed. "Whatever. We still have five minutes. Well, now that you're awake, we can get down to business. I need to give you a manicure." Dot grabbed her hands, studying them. "Ew! Do you bite your nails?"

Cassie yanked them back, blushing. "Maybe."

Dot shook her head. "There's so much for you to learn."

"Again, maybe." She shot back. Cassie threw back the covers and swung her legs over. She put out both feet on the ground and tried to stand. Her legs were still a little wobbly but she managed to make it to a chair across the room.

She sighed, looking down at her dirty clothes. "Got anything else that I could wear before I start hurtling things around the room?"

Dot smiled and pulled out her bag. "Do you even need to ask?"

…

"Again! Come on, harder!" Jared yelled.

Cassie took a deep breath and threw a flaming ball of red light at the target again and again but it wouldn't freaking knock over. She let out a frustrated groan, stamping her foot.

"Why won't it move?" she yelled, raising back her arm and throwing multiple balls of death at the little red and white target across the room. Every single one diminished and crumpled into nothing before the got halfway across. Cassie sighed angrily and plopped down on a bench, scowling.

Cassie and Jared were alone in the gym again, trying to get her to 'unlock her potential'. So far the only thing Cassie saw unlocking was her temper, as she failed time and time again to do what seemed simple when you have crazy powers in your hands.

_I seriously can't do this. _She thought. _If they want me to defeat Griselda, not to mention the entire Tick army, plus that stupid giant, they're off their rockers. I couldn't hurt a flea with what I can do. _

Cassie glumly rewinded the day in her mind. Jared had taught her how to levitate stuff, (it ended up dropping on his head), shoot flaming blasts of light that supposedly destroyed your enemy where he stood, (she couldn't make a spark), and now they were on balls of fire. Yeah. That hadn't been going so well. They had been doing this for the past two days and she had gotten… nowhere.

Well, Jared had filled her in on everything he knew about the jewel. He'd read about it, studied it and been obsessed with it for as long as he could remember, as he claimed. Cassie had almost felt kind of bad for inheriting it, the way he talked about it. _I wish I could give it to him; he could save Warnerstock _for _me._ _Maybe then I won't be humiliated and let everybody down._

Jared walked over to her, crossing his arms. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm riding my unicorn to planet Jupiter." She said.

"Cute." He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her. "Why are you giving up?"

"Because if you haven't noticed, I suck at this. Big time. I'll never be able to be ready for anything! And we already decided that we're leaving in three days. I can't be ready in that much time!" she snapped.

"Yes you can. At least, if you actually try instead of just sit here and mope. No one ever achieved anything by sitting there and crying about it."

Cassie blushed. He had seen a single tear of frustration slip down her cheek. She turned away, staring into space in front of her. "I don't care. I'll never be able to do this."

"Actually, I think you did fine for today. You managed to singe my hair and make my phone conk me on the head. I believe that deserves a break. You're done." He said. Cassie wiped the tear off her face, and looking at him, he could have sworn she saw a tiny smile sweep his lips before he got all serious again.

"Thanks." She said, getting up. She just now realized that she felt really tired from trying to blow up cardboard targets all day. She checked the clock. It was 10:20.

"Get good sleep, because tomorrow there's not gonna be any breaks- we're blowing stuff up, all day. It's a lot less fun than you think." He called after her.

"Yeah, yeah." She said, pulling open the door. She was instantly swarmed by that same bunch of teenagers that had been following her around for days. But she immediately saw Dot in the front, so she knew she'd at least have someone who wasn't an airhead to talk to.

"Hey guys," she muttered, not even bothering to put on a smile. "I'm really tired, so-"

"Hey, Cassie, can I have your number?" some guy asked her.

_Of course not. _She inwardly rolled her eyes. "Don't have a phone, sorry."

"Yeah, as if she would give her number to you." Dot said. "She has more important things to do anyway. In fact, all of you! Shove off! We need our own personal space please!"

Shooing the offended-looking teens off, she turned to Cassie and said, "So, how did it go?"

"You want the good news or the bad news?" she said.

"Good news."

"I sucked. Again." Cassie crossed her arms over her stomach.

Dot looked confused. "That's the good news?"

Cassie shrugged. "I guess. The bad news is that I'll never be able to do anything for Acme Falls, much less this whole resistance. They're all counting on me and I'm going to fail."

"Of course you won't!" Dot smiled. "You're gonna do fine. You just need some encouragement."

Cassie halfheartedly laughed. "Yeah, Jared already tried that. No such luck."

"Jared…" Dot sighed. "I can already hear the wedding bells."

"Really? All I hear is a death march." Cassie grinned.

Dot huffed and crossed her arms. "Hey! It could happen!"

Cassie shook her head. "Yeah, when Wakko's not hungry."

…

"Shoot." Yakko said, holding his fingers in a football goal position. Wakko took aim, narrowing his eyes, and then flicked the piece of paper across the table.

They were sitting alone in the cafeteria again, playing every moron's favorite game- paper football. It was late at night, like always and the two Warner brothers were bored out of their minds. Dot was hanging out with Cassie of course, so Yakko and Wakko were alone together, again. It seemed that the whole "Ooh, look, it's the kings and queen of Acme Falls!" thing had long since died away. So they had been pushed down to the bottom of the food chain- again.

Wakko's aim wasn't very good, as usual, so the folded piece of paper flew straight into Yakko's eye.

"Ow!" Yakko slapped hand over his face. Wakko bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Whoops." He snickered. "Well, at least I still got a goal."

"No you didn't." Yakko said, lowering his hand. His right eye was already watering, but he didn't care. "Let me try." He grabbed the football off the floor and held it in the shooting position. Wakko made a goal with his hands. Yakko flicked the paper but it veered way off course, soaring way over the next table. Wakko laughed again.

"Wow. Really? Even Cassie could do better than that." He taunted. Yakko's temper boiled up again.

Cassie, Cassie, Cassie. Was that _all _anyone could talk about nowadays? It was like she had become famous overnight. Once the word got out that she had the long-lost jewel she had become an instant celebrity. People were overflowing wherever she sat at lunch. Yakko himself had been pushed completely off his seat. Twice.

Plus he didn't remember his last conversation with her; he couldn't get a word in. There was a mob of people that followed her around and wouldn't shut up about the necklace. They were asking so many questions and going on and on about how cool it was that she could make a stupid pencil float up in the air. Seriously. It was a pencil. Big whoop.

Yakko didn't know how she handled it; being followed everywhere. Sure, he'd had some admirers in Acme Falls, but definitely not the really buff Robert Patterson-like guys that Cassie liked to laugh with and stare at.

_Whoa, wait. I am so not thinking those thoughts that I think I'm thinking. _Yakko felt a weird feeling in his stomach. _So what if she likes them. I don't care! It's not even my business…_

But he did care. He knew he did. Yakko felt that stupid feeling inside him- he'd never even known what it was before. Actually, he'd only really heard about it and thought it was dumb to feel that way. But now he knew what it felt like to be…

"Yakko." A voice called him back to earth. "Wake up." Wakko was still sitting there, staring at him with an expression like he was the dumbest thing on earth. "You keep zoning out like that."

"Oh, sorry." he said. "What were you saying?"

Wakko rolled his eyes to the heavens. "I _said _are you going to get the football you just flicked across the room, and I've _been_ saying it for a minute and a half."

"Sheesh, I said I was sorry. I'll get it." He stood up and walked around the table just in time for two noisy girls to enter the room.

_Great. Just who I wanted to see. _Cassie strode in with Dot by her side. They were both laughing hysterically about some stupid thing Yakko didn't even care about right now.

He grabbed the football off the floor and stuffed it in his pocket, not wanting them to know he and Wakko had resorted to a game as stupid as paper football because they were so bored. True, he loved football and all, but he had to face it- paper football was a waste of paper and time.

Yakko didn't look up as Cassie and Dot came towards them. The rest of the kids slowly dispersed from the room, leaving the four of them.

"What are you two lady killers doing here?" Dot asked, still trying not to laugh from the apparently hilarious topic she had been talking about. She didn't bother to wait for them to answer. "We just got back from the shark tank. It's like our favorite hangout now. Who knew, right?"

"Cool." Yakko forced, before he sat back down at the table. The girls did the same. "We were just… you know, talking." _Wow. All the knowledge in my brain and I pick that._

Dot opened her mouth to say something but she winced and stopped herself. Yakko looked down in time to see that Cassie had elbowed her in the ribs, before saying. "Nice."

Silence rang through the room for a while. Dot looked at Yakko. Then at Cassie. Then she got up and stretched out, yawning. "Welllll, it's been fun, but me and Wakko really should be off to bed. Right Wakko?"

Wakko looked confused as Dot yanked him by the shirt towards the door. "I…guess?"

Yakko stared after his sister knowing what she was trying to do. And he didn't like it. Perfect timing! Any other day he would have _loved _to be alone with Cassie. At night, no less. But right now he felt too… weird. Was he mad at her? He wasn't sure. Did he still like her? Heck yeah. So what was wrong with him?

Dot dragged her brother out of the room and winked at Yakko before slamming the door shut. Yakko rolled his eyes. This was so not how he wanted to spend his evening. Maybe.

Cassie tapped her fingers on the table. "So…"

"So." He said. This had got to be one of Dot's lesser 'great ideas'.

"So why didn't you guys come hang out with us earlier? You said you had something more important to do and here you are with a paper football in your hand." Cassie pointed to it. Yakko hadn't realized he had been fiddling with it under the table.

"Oh, this? No, no, no…. this is a, um-"

"Yakko, I'm not stupid. It's a paper football. And you decided that over hanging out with me. Which I find pretty out of character for you and your brother-since you guys are both obsessed with girls." She looked pleased with herself that she was right. Yakko was getting annoyed all over again. "You two have blown me off whenever I have free time. What's up?"

"Nothing's up." He shrugged. "I just thought, you know. You'd be too busy or something."

"Too busy? Too busy for my best friends?" she said. "Yeah, right. I've been trying to talk to you for days and you're acting like you hate me. So after a while I backed off." She looked at him, but he didn't return her gaze. "I guess you're just-"

"Don't even say it." he snapped. I'm not jealous of you, okay? I'm just… mad." He said, truthfully. Actually, he was really thinking about how she had called him her best friend.

Cassie raised her eyebrows. "Fine, whatever you say. I get it… sort of. Actually, I'd be frustrated too if all I could do to save my hometown, was well- nothing. I know what it's like, to feel insignificant."

This time Yakko looked into her deep green eyes. She stared back and they shared the same emotion; understanding. Yakko had known what it was like to feel like a piece of crud- he'd gone half of his life on the streets with people giving him looks like he was about to steal their food. Back then, Acme Falls had been a desolate and poor place; Yakko had woken up every morning and the first thing on his mind was how he was going to get enough food on the table for him and his sibs so that they could survive another day just to do the same thing for the rest of their lives.

And Cassie- Yakko could never imagine exactly what it would have been like but ever since she'd found out about the necklace he'd known that whoever she'd grown up with wasn't her real dad. Rosetta had told him the story of how some baby had gotten away with it a long time ago. But living under the care of a psycho for most of her life had to have been hard. So he guessed she was right- they had both been little unimportant person who couldn't do anything.

And now that Acme Falls had been taken over he was extra worried that he was going to fail their town. What with Cassie having the necklace and Rosetta having ninja-like skills he'd started to sort of fade away. And he wasn't going to let that happen; hopefully.

"Yeah, I guess so." He finally said. _What is wrong with me? Why can't I say anything intelligent? _

"So are you okay?" she asked.

Yakko decided he had gone too long without being a pervert and it was time to slip in to the old routine for a change. "Well, 'okay' by my standards means that I have a hot girlfriend. So if you'll be willing to commit to kissing me 24/7, yeah, I'll be okay."

"Oh, God." Cassie scowled. "The guy I met at the bookstore has returned."

"And you know you missed him." Yakko said, grinning.

"Opposite of yes. In fact, you're sickening me. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go talk to someone who isn't gross."

"I might as well go with you. I think the paper football did something to my cornea." He said, standing up with her.

And then it happened. Before either one of them could get out the door, they were blown back by the biggest explosion they had ever seen.

….

"Wakko where're my hair curlers?" Dot yelled over her shoulder, digging through her bag.

"Uh… I don't know. I didn't touch them! It's not like I threw them in the trash can or anything like that…"

Before Dot could even think of yelling at her brother, a big _boom_ shook the room. In fact, it felt like when the giant had struck the castle repeatedly back in Acme Falls; but this felt worse. It felt like an explosion, like something that ran throughout the entire underground facility.

Another _boom _shook the room and Dot fell to her feet, hearing screams outside the door. "Wakko?" she yelled. "Wakko!" She didn't care that she had probably bruised her knees by falling down, and she scraped the tears off her face. She wasn't about to do the same stupid thing she had done at the castle again. "Wakko!"

"Dot?" she heard. "What's going on?" Dot felt relief wash over her, but not for long. She felt two more explosions outside the room; and they were getting closer. The screams were also getting louder. Dot's heart pounded inside her chest.

"I don't know! Where are you?" she yelled over the noise.

"I'm right here!"

She ran around the corner of the room and bumped right into him. Wakko had on a worried and scared expression that made Dot even more freaked out. Wakko almost never looked that way- even when something bad was happening. And that's what worried her.

"Come on, let's go." Wakko took her hand and threw open the door. But they both stood frozen where they were, staring at what lay before them.  
>It was mayhem all over again. But this time there was more serious damage; apparently something had blown lots of walls apart. Some people were stepping out from their rooms and running down the main hallway, looking like ghosts.<p>

Wakko squeezed Dot's hand, tugging it in their direction. "Let's go!" Dot ran with him, amongst all the other people.

"What's happening?" she asked frantically. "What's going on?"

"I don't know but I have a feeling that it's something bad. We have to get out of here, now!" he said, turning a corner and stopping in his tracks. "…Oh, no."

Dot saw what he saw; and it was not good. It was Ticks. An invasion of them- they were pouring in from the main trapdoor. And they did not look like they wanted to have a nice chat.

Some teenagers were grabbing weapons and starting to fight them; but all they ended up doing was being shot. Each of the Ticks wielded guns- one that looked even more lethal than the ones that Dot had seen them with before. Dot gasped in disgust as one girl took a bullet to the shoulder and instantly fell. Wakko put his arm around her, pushing her against a wall, behind a corner. "They found us." He whispered, disbelievingly.  
>"Yeah, and they came here to kill us all! We have to find Yakko and Cassie, and-"<p>

"Cassie!" Wakko whispered. "That's why they're here, they want the jewel! Not us!"

Dot paused. "But how did they find this place? It's too well hidden." She was cut off as more people pushed past them, screaming. Wakko stumbled and was almost knocked over.

"Come on." He said, dragging Dot by the hand again. "We need to find our brother, Cassie, and Rosetta and get the heck out of here!"

And for once, Dot agreed with her brother.

….

Yakko gasped, seeing stars. His vision was too blurred and messed up to see anything as he lay on his back on the floor of the cafeteria. But he felt splintered wood and bricks poking him in the back and arms. His legs were numb from the impact of the explosion. But he could hear just fine; screams and shouts were all around him. Yakko didn't know why, but he felt like they were under attack. Someone had purposely meant to kill them.

Yakko wiggled his arms. Yep, they were still intact. So was the rest of his body, thank God. But it was still bruised and scratched. He still wasn't really sure what had happened. He didn't even know how much time he'd laid there, or if he passed out. But now he knew he had to get up or he would die for sure. More explosions were going off every ten seconds all over the place, raising more screams from a distance.

He slowly dragged himself onto his stomach, not having the strength to actually get to his feet, and looked around. The doors and most of the wall had been destroyed, completely blown away. Debris was scattered everywhere. And someone was lying next to him, groaning-

"Cassie." Yakko felt like an idiot for almost forgetting she was there. She was rolled over on her side and her eyes were closed. "Cassie are you okay? Cassie, get up!" He shook her and didn't stop calling her name until she finally coughed.

"Yakko." She sat up. "What happened..?" she looked at the damage in front of and around her. "What-"

"It doesn't matter. Come one, we have to move." He took her hand and helped her stand up. She was a little unstable and so was he; they had been so close to the explosion that if they had been any closer, Yakko predicted that they would have been blown to bits. Literally.

"Yakko, you're bleeding!" Cassie put a hand on his shoulder and examined a nasty gash leading from it all the way down his rib cage. Blood was already trickling out from it, and as soon as she had made him notice it, Yakko instantly began to feel the pain coming back to him.

_I guess the shock is wearing off. _ He winced as his shoulder throbbed, and pulled her hand off him. "It doesn't matter right now, we can deal with it later." He said, not letting go of her hand. _She cares that I'm hurt… that must mean something, right?_

He was still looking at her when a voice ripped him away from his trance. "Hey! You two! Get a room, or let's get out of here!" It was Wakko and Dot running towards them, skipping over broken wood and pieces of door.

"Guys, what's going on out there?" Yakko said, still irritated that they had barged in on his moment; but he guessed it was better that they picked up where they left off later, in a less explosive area.

"It's the war of the worlds out there." Dot said, catching her breath. "The Ticks are here. They found us."

"_What_?" Yakko and Cassie said.

Dot nodded. "I don't know how, and I don't want to. We just have to-"

"Get out of here." Another person said, behind them. Wakko moved out of the way so Rosetta could be seen, with a gun in hand. "Right now."

Yakko was already shaking his head. "No way. We're staying here, and helping you. You're all going to die if Cassie doesn't start kicking butt."

"Cassie," Rosetta said, eyeing her, "needs to get out of here, _now, _like I said."

Cassie already started protesting. "But I can-"

"I said no." Rosetta said. "And you three," she said, gesturing towards them with her gun, "need to do the same. We'll hold them off while you go out the emergency exit. Get out and make your way to Ticktockia. Find Griselda and kill her. Defeat the army and save your town. Save our town Save Warnerstock. And in order for you to do this, I suggest you don't raise an argument."

Yakko tried to say, "But-"

Rosetta stepped forward, a deathly look in her eye. "What did I just say?"

Yakko shut his mouth, staying silent. He had to admit- that girl had a way of making people shut up.

"Now go." She said. "See that door, down the hall, go in there, and in that room, there's another hidden door. That'll lead you out."

"Rosetta-" Dot began.

"Go!" she yelled. "They're coming!" She jumped in front of them, shooting her gun towards where the door used to be. "Go, right now!"

Yakko didn't have to be told anymore- he grabbed Dot's hand and they all started to run, towards the door in the hallway, only to find it locked.

Wakko jiggled the handle. "It won't open!" he yelled in frustration.

"Stand back!" Dot, said, shoving him out of the way. "Hi-yah!" she shot out her foot, and it hit the door, knocking it off its hinges and breaking it down. She jumped in, and turned around to see the three of them staring in shock. "What?"

"Dot, you just broke a door down!" Wakko finally stammered.

"Yeah, and I really don't have time to explain, so get in here!" she yelled. They all managed to shake off the weirdness of it and follow her into the dimly lit room.

"Somebody hit the lights." Yakko said. Cassie got them, and the light revealed that they were in some kind of storage room that had a bunch of boxes in it.

"Where's the door?" Cassie said.

Yakko looked around, trying not to move his painful shoulder at all, which was proving difficult. "Well, Rosetta said that it was hidden, so I guess it's-"

"Found it." Wakko said, his head stuck inside a cabinet on the floor.

"What? No way." Dot said, peeking behind him. Yakko and Cassie joined them, but sure enough, they could see a tiny door when they moved some boxes around.

"That was almost too easy." Cassie muttered. She looked at Yakko and he felt that same uneasy feeling inside, but he decided to ignore it.

"Well, we can't just sit here. Let's just go." He said. Wakko opened the door cautiously, and one by one they all squeezed in.

They were met with a dark staircase made of curving tree roots and dirt, leading way up to a faraway tree branch that blocked the exit. Yakko shut the door behind him and he started climbing the stairs, two at a time after the rest of them. They climbed in silence until Yakko let out the question that was burning in his mind. "I can't believe this is happening. How could they have known where we were?"

"Someone must have told them." Dot murmured, not really to anyone in particular.

"What did you say?" he said, turning to her.

"Someone must have tipped them off about where we were!" Dot said, again, to herself.

They all shared doubtful glances as they reached the top of the stairs and Cassie pulled back the branch, revealing a rainstorm that was raging outside. They emerged from a large hole in an even larger tree that had enormous branches that sheltered them from the rain. They were surrounded by other trees, a forest, in fact, that seemed to never end. Cassie held back the branch so that everyone could walk out from the tree.

"It makes perfect sense, doesn't it?" Dot was saying. "Someone told them that we were going to be here, _tonight, _completely unaware that anyone would show up and try to attack us. Someone around here is a double agent."

Yakko pulled his arms around him, shivering in the cold. "Yeah, but who?"

"That would be me." A voice coming from the dark startled them, making them jump. Yakko could almost not believe his ears. No, it couldn't be…

But it was. Jared stepped out from the rain, into the shelter of the tree. He had a gun and a couple of other Ticks behind him, backing him up. Yakko's mouth dropped open. "You?"

"Me." He said, smiling nastily.

"No!" Dot yelled. "No freaking way!"

Wakko grabbed his sister's arm, still looking as scared and shocked as Yakko felt. "Dot-"

"No!" She screamed, ripping out of his grip. "I trusted you!"

"Yeah," Jared said, looking down at her, seeming to be amused by her anger. "You did. Big mistake."

"Why?" Cassie aid before Dot could yell anything else. "How could you? How could you be with…" she gave a disgusted look at the Ticks behind him. "Them?"

"Easy," Jared said. "I wanted to survive. Joining the Ticks was just about the only smart thing anyone could do around here. When my Dad went to war and never came back, I realized- fighting them was pointless. They had well-trained soldiers and we had… farmers and blacksmiths who didn't know the first thing about firing a gun. I had a mom who was wasting away and a sister who was ignorant and young. So we would have never survived if I hadn't been persuaded by the guards walking around the place." He jerked his head back to the guards behind him.

"I told them about the resistance, and when I became the leader, I told them that we would find whoever had that jewel. We would find it, and get it and take back what was rightfully Griselda's. So when I found out that you had it, I knew what I had to do."

Cassie stood there, breathing furiously. "But… but why did you teach me how to use it?"

Jared rolled his eyes like she was stupid. "Because Rosetta was watching to closely. And so were you three." He gestured tersely to the Warners. "I couldn't just start an attack when you were all so alert. So I decided to wait until the right moment, when you would be the most vulnerable. I set up bombs in the dead of night to create confusion while the Ticks came in and started attacking. It was all supposed to make Rosetta make you leave. I know my sister better than anyone. She would take the fall and you guys would come out here, thinking you were going to get away." Jared pointed his gun at them and smiled again. "And so far, the plan's working."

Cassie stepped in front of Wakko and Dot. "Don't even think about it."

"Too late. I've been thinking about this day for years. And I didn't wait that long for you to just decide that you're not going to cooperate." Jared suddenly turned his gun on Yakko, who was standing off to the side. "So hand the jewel over and no one gets hurt." The Ticks all pointed their guns at him as well.

Yakko's heart pounded inside his chest. _Oh, great. _He glanced at Cassie and gave her a look that said, _Uh, don't want to ruin the whole 'save Acme Falls' thing, but could you please give him what he wants?_

Cassie stepped forward. "Jared, you can't do this. This isn't going to get you what you want."

"Yes, it sure as hell will!" Jared yelled with rage, rain piercing the back of his shirt. "Griselda is going to give me anything I want if I get what she needs, so give it to me now, or say bye bye to King Yakko." He took a step forward, cocking the gun. "It's your call."

Yakko tried to say something but his heart was in his throat. He was paralyzed; he couldn't have moved if he wanted to. Jared was about to shoot when Dot suddenly yelled, "Look!"

Pointing to the ground at the tree trunk, she leaped back, and everyone saw why. There was a blinking red light, and Yakko knew what it was even before it exploded all around them. In the same moment, Jared fired his gun in panic. But it never hit Yakko, because suddenly Cassie's hand was suddenly in his, and they were all spinning around. The rain disappeared; all the sound was swirling around them, Jared's last scream of fury lingering in the air. Yakko, Cassie, Wakko and Dot were all spinning around, the darkness of night engulfing them all. They were gone; and where they were, they hadn't a clue.

**Whoa! That's what I call a plot twist.**

_**This is what I call boring. Where's my phone? I'm calling a cab and getting out of here. This was the most confusing chapter ever.**_

**Aw, c'mon, Babsy, it wasn't that bad.**

_**It made my brain hurt. Now let's go before I fall asleep. I need to get a costume for Halloween!**_

**Really? What are you being?**

_**(swirls around) Catwoman!**_

**Cool! That means I can be… (swirls around) Batbunny!**

_**Well, I guess we should finish this up.**_

**Okay. Seeya, toonsters! And have a Happy Halloween. Muahahahahahaha!**

_**You have the worst evil laugh ever.**_

**I know.**


	13. A bad night's sleep

**Hey ya'll- so sorry it took so long to update- I've been a busy bee! Thanks for your reviews, guys. They really make it all worth it at the end of the day. I love you people! Okay enough mushy stuff :) Go ahead and read- Oh, and for all of you who liked the extreme plot twist; trust me sweethearts, there's more where that came from ;)**

**Chapter 12- A bad night's sleep**

Cassie slammed into hard ground, and her breath was sucked right out of her; she could tell the same was happening Yakko, Wakko and Dot, feeling their bodies ram into the earth next to her. It was too dark to tell where they were, and too quiet to make out if they were near any civilization. Or alive, for that matter.

Even though she knew they were supposedly safe, Cassie, face down on a hard rock floor, could still feel her heart beating like a hammer into the ground. And only one thought was burning into her mind: _Why Jared?_

She still didn't want to think that it had been him all along. It was unbelievable, and that was the truth. It was almost like she was waking up from a bad dream- one that had started out as a good one. And now it was turning into a nightmare.

Cassie, realizing she needed oxygen, sucked in a breath of air, and forced herself to look up. It was in the middle of the night- but she could tell by the light shining on the wet stone floor that the moon was still hanging up the sky and sending down glimmering beams of light, revealing their location. They were in a place where the rain wasn't falling like it had been. They also seemed to be high up- there were clouds hanging around them, and the wind was blowing like crazy outside the cave they had landed in. Wait- cave?

"Are we dead?" Dot finally choked out, rolling over. Her face and skirt were scratched and dirty. "Or are we alive?"

"As far as I can ascertain, barely," said Yakko as he rolled over, wincing in pain because of his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Ugh, I can't believe that slimeball Jared- he's a traitor!" Dot exclaimed, balling her fists and entirely ignoring Yakko's question.

Wakko shook his head as soon as he sat up. "I never liked him."

Cassie looked at him. "You were best friends with the guy when he gave you his lunch the other day."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know he was going to try and kill us?"

"None of us were," said Yakko. "I can't believe it. He played us like a board game just to 'get what he wanted'. And he was willing to get _everyone _killed in the process."

"I know. If we hadn't… wait a minute, how did we get here?" Dot asked, looking this way and that. "One minute we're getting blown up and now we're… wherever we are! What's happening?"

Cassie felt a deep feeling in her gut like she knew what had happened. And she did. "I… I think it was my fault."

They just stared at her, making her feel even more guilty. "I guess I… panicked or something. Jared about to shoot us and the bomb-exploding-in-our-faces thing; I think I might have transported us someplace." Cassie saw her necklace glowing again, like it seemingly always did when it pulled something totally unexpected. "I guess it was an instinct thing. It saved us."

"_You_ saved us." Yakko said, painfully sitting up. "If it wasn't for you I'd be a regular Abraham Lincoln by now… And in fact, we'd all be blown to smithereens by that bomb anyway. So thanks, even if you didn't exactly mean to save our lives. It's the thought that counts, right?"

Cassie felt her face get hot. "Sure. I don't know how to control this thing, but if it does more stuff like that, then I guess we're home free."

"Wait, I'm confused- where are we?" Wakko asked.

"We're in a cave… on a mountain, I think." Dot said, narrowing her eyes. "But the wind's picking up outside, so we'd better not-"

"No way!" Wakko said, slowly peeling himself off the ground. He ran outside the entrance and stared out at the spread of forest before him.

"Wakko!" they all shouted, but they might as well have been talking to a charging bull. Wakko kept walking forward, to the edge of the cliff, but suddenly stopped. "Yep, we're definitely on a mountain." He called over his shoulder.

Dot and Cassie immediately got up, but when Yakko tried but he staggered from the pain- the cut in his shoulder must have been really deep, and the blood was seeping down his chest now.

Cassie caught him and made him sit back down. "Whoa, tiger- better do something about your shoulder before you pass out."

"I'm fine," Yakko protested, as he tried to wipe some blood off his glove.

"Yeah, and you're gonna bleed to death if we don't do something quick." Dot said, looking around. "And we have… nothing."

"Oh, perfect." Cassie muttered. "Hold on- let me see what Wakko's hollering about. In the meantime, we need to find something to stem that bleeding." She turned around and hurried to Wakko's side before he woke up the entire planet. "What is it?"

He pointed out into the night, towards the silhouette of something off into the distance. "Look!"

Cassie could barely make it out, but when she did her heart almost skipped a beat.

"Is that the-"

"I don't know." Wakko said. "But it sure looks like it."

Both of them squinted harder, and eventually they could make out the outline of a castle. It was big- bigger than twice the size of the castle in Acme Falls, and it looked menacing. Turrets and towers poked out of the mist, and lights from torches looked like little glowing ants. There were mountains behind it and in front of it- Wakko and Cassie could just make it out in between two of them. And despite the pretty little lake around it, it didn't look like a friendly place.

The two of them stared at it for several minutes before Wakko finally spoke. "It's Ticktockia," he whispered.  
>Cassie couldn't quit staring. "Maybe…"<p>

Wakko bounced up and down. "But… if we're this close then we have a chance! At least, we can do _something._ We have to. And-"

"Wakko, calm down. We're not even sure that's really Ticktockia."

Wakko looked exasperated. "Of course it is! Just look at the all the mist and stuff. It looks totally evil."

"Okay, you have a point… sort of. But we can't just start jumping to conclusions."

A strong gust of wind blew past them, and their clothes and hair flapped around them. Wakko shivered and clutched his hat to keep it from falling into the deep crevice in the ground below them.

"Come on, get back in, before we're blown clear off the mountain." Cassie turned and, shivering, went back inside with Wakko. Tearing her gaze away, she decided to tell Yakko about it later. They couldn't be sure _what _that was… but somehow it did seem like the immediate reaction to freak out and think it was Griselda waiting for them. And that scared Cassie even more because of the horrible realization- that witch had won another battle. And since Jared had helped her, that meant that they could add another person to the list of people that weren't on their side. And if they had lost another battle- if they kept running away again and again- they were going to lose the war.

"Jeez, Yakko. How much blood is inside you?" said Dot. Cassie could tell even though her voice sounded joking, it was just a mask for the worry inside it.

"It's not like I can control it, Dot!" Yakko said, obviously not seeing his sister's concern.

Cassie's stomach almost flipped upside down when she saw the cut- it was long, going from his shoulder to his rib cage, and Yakko's fur was matted with blood. It had definitely gotten worse in just a few minutes; they needed to do something about it, and quick.

"Whoa!" Wakko gasped.

As if on cue, the wound started sealing up before their eyes. Dot shot back in surprise and Yakko eyes widened as he stared at his own shoulder healing itself. The wound was literally closing back together. Even the blood was pretty much evaporating. Cassie would have been shocked but she had a hunch what was going on before it even started; and once again it was just out of the blue, totally not in her control.

"Was that you?" Yakko said, looking at her, while flexing his now perfectly good arm.

"Hmm, let's think- it could have been me, _or _you're actually a superhero and you're invincible." Cassie rolled her eyes. "So this makes it- what? The third time I've saved your life in the past week?"

"Yeah, way to be a damsel in distress, big brother." Dot said, staring at Yakko's shoulder. It didn't even have a scratch anymore. "Hey, since you've got all these 'mystical powers' and stuff now can you make me cuter than I already am?"

"Don't count on it." She muttered, falling down next to Yakko. Cassie felt like someone was repeatedly hitting her on the head with a mallet; like the mother of all headaches, and her limbs felt like gelatin.

"You okay?" Wakko said, plopping down next to her.

"No," she said, squeezing her eyes shut and putting a hand up to her temple. "Apparently this stupid thing sucks the energy out of me every time it does something, and I have to 'reduce my power usage'. As if I could control it all! It's just something Jared told me…"

"Jared," Dot said, anger filling her eyes again. "I hope he got his face blown off back there."

"We can't be sure, but we can dream." Yakko agreed.

There was a silence. The wind kept howling outside the cave, and the moon got covered by a thick cluster of clouds. The remaining light they had was reduced to nil.

"So what now?" Wakko's voice finally said softly. No one said anything.

_I don't know. _Cassie thought. _I used to think organizing books was going to be the rest of my boring life; but this? This is what I always wanted. But I don't know what to do._

The silence carried on for what seemed like years. The wind slowly began to settle down, and more clouds blocked the moon's light so that it became darker and darker. Cassie had no idea how loud silence could be; it was deafening.

But somehow, aside from all that, staying inside the cave seemed like a good idea. The rain had caught up with them and it was starting to coming down in buckets outside. The four of them huddled together to keep from freezing to death, and soon Cassie found herself snuggled up to Yakko's chest.

_Wow… Could this day _get _any weirder?_

She tried her best to keep off of him, but it just wasn't comfortable. Wakko and Dot were already asleep on either side of them, and she didn't have anyone to lean on; plus they were lying back on a wall of black rock, which didn't exactly feel like goose-down feather pillows. So eventually she gave in the exhaustion, rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to fight off the recurring images of Jared with a gun in her head. But she found that lying there, listening to Yakko's steady heart beat and lying on his warm fur made it a lot easier…

And it made falling asleep even more so… for a while, at least.

….

_It was in ruins._

_The whole of the underground hideout looked like a tornado had swept through it; and that was a decent compliment to the place. There were doors torn off their hinges, walls had been blown apart, and wood, bricks and bodies were scattered everywhere. It looked like the bombs had certainly done their job; demolishing the resistance to the best of their ability. _

_It didn't look like there were any signs of life at all. Five hours after the battle had been going, it was dead quiet, except for the sound of Ticks walking around and kicking whatever was in their way aside. They were searching for anyone who had been lucky (or unlucky) enough to survive. Their orders were simple; find a survivor and kill them. No exceptions. _

"_Anything?" said a man with the Ticktockian symbol on the front of his dark uniform. "If we can't find who we're looking for, we're dead." Oh, and that was another order- find the Warners and the girl that was with them. _

"_We haven't searched the whole place yet, but no one's seen 'em." replied the other soldier. "But there's no way they could have escaped, is there? We had them surrounded."_

"_Those Warners are a slippery bunch. If they didn't survive, it'll be because of a miracle."_

_The second soldier kicked at a body. "Well, it wasn't our job to make sure they got blown up. It was that stupid kid's… Did he even make it?"_

"_I heard somebody saw him dead outside a secret exit… he got a face-full of one of our own bombs, is what we think. Personally, I think he chickened out and ran for it. " The first shrugged. _

"_Well, he had to be some messed up guy. Betraying his own team like that…"_

"_It was all Griselda's idea. He was just her pawn. Probably didn't know what she was planning in the grand scheme of things… he just wanted a place to go."_

"_I don't care. We just spent all this time killing all these people and for what? Nothing. The kid let Griselda down, got himself killed and now we're back to square one."_

"_Not exactly. Griselda has pretty much every town in Warnerstock wrapped around her finger. If those Warners had any sense, they'd go straight to her. Isn't that what she wants?"_

_..._

"_More news, your highness," said the brand new messenger._

"_What is it?" Griselda said in a bored voice. Sitting upon her throne, she looked like a dead corpse because she was so pale, but her piercing blue eyes gave the impression that she was very much alive and ready to snap a bone if necessary. _

_The man gulped. "The Warners and the girl are missing… again." He was nervous; he had heard what had happened to the last guy who had told her the same thing, and it hadn't ended well._

_Griselda rolled her eyes. "Honestly, do I even need people like you anymore? So far the bird has given me more information than you have." She jerked her head to the black raven that was perched on the arm of her throne. "I know they are missing. I know where they are, and I know where they're going; they're coming here."_

"_Now?" he stammered._

"_Of course not! They're too far off. Apparently something went wrong with the child, and she… well, they've escaped. And now that I have their kingdom under my control, they're going to try and stop me. So we have to be sure they don't make it very far."_

_The man slowly nodded. Griselda sent her bird out the window again. She hesitated before asking, "Were there any survivors?"_

"_A few. But they've been killed, as you ordered."_

"_Not even Jared?"_

"_He was killed in the confusion, your majesty." The man answered, feeling a bit prouder now that he had some useful information._

_For a minute, the queen looked almost discouraged. "Oh, such a shame. He had such promise… but I suppose we can do without him. Besides, we needed that resistance gone. It could have proved difficult to overpower if we hadn't taken them by surprise."_

"_Of course, your highness." He said. Griselda looked up, and he realized she hadn't really been talking to him, but more to herself. _

"_Tell the soldiers to search some more. I want no one left surviving. And secure the defenses of the castle. When those Warners get here, I don't want any funny business. Just kill them straight away."_

"_Yes, your majesty." The man bowed and began to exit the room. _

_Griselda said one more thing before he was out the door. "All of them, except for that girl with them. The one with the jewel around her neck." _

…_._

Yakko felt Cassie jolt awake from her sleep, which made him jump as well. Her head was on his lap, Dot was snoring on his leg and Wakko was curled up at his feet, sucking his thumb.

Of course, Yakko's leg involuntarily jerked, bumping his sister in the jaw. He winced, anticipating the pain that was surely coming, but after Dot blinked and sat up, yawning, he guessed she was just too tired. "Sorry," he said anyway.

There was a cloudy morning awaiting them, as Yakko could see outside the cave. Now that things were lit a little better, he could see the cave was a lot bigger than he'd thought it was. The black stone walls was glistening with dew, and Yakko felt the back of his head was sore like he'd slept on… well, a rock.

"Food?" Wakko snorted and jerked awake too, blinking and glancing around like he'd forgotten where he was.

Cassie seemed to realize she was lying right on top of him and sat up too. "Get a little cozy last night?" Yakko grinned.

She looked like she was debating kicking or punching him. "Shut up," she finally said.

"So, again, back to the question Wakko asked before we all fell asleep: What do we do now?" Dot said, looking at the remaining three. They all glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Where do we start?" Wakko asked.

"We can't go back," Yakko said grimly. "That's for sure." He bit his lip to keep from yelling in pain when he moved his arm; even though it had been healed the night before, it was sore like his head, but ten times worse.

_Huh. I guess it's a trade-off; it feels all better and then it hurts like hell the next day._

"You're right. I mean, it's kind of obvious now, but…" Cassie said slowly, like she was wondering whether she should tell them or not. "I had a dream last night. Well, actually two dreams. The first one was back at the resistance, and it's destroyed. It completely totaled; and no one's survived. Not even Jared," she said, eyeing Dot who scowled with a look that said, _serves him right!_

Cassie continued. "And then it sort of… shifted. And Griselda was in her castle and she said-" she stopped.

Wakko nodded. "Yeah, and?"

"Um… she said to…. Um… Kill you guys if you even came near the castle."

Yakko raised his eyebrows and Dot and Wakko's eyes widened. "And what about you?" Dot finally asked.

"Well she sort of implied that she wants me alive… for now. She just wants this." Cassie held up the jewel on the silver chain. "And they're watching us. So technically, I'm a walking tracking device and you guys are just waiting to be shot or something. And I don't want to be responsible for that. So maybe I should just-"

"Hey, it's not your fault you're going to get us killed," Dot said reassuringly. Cassie gave her a look that meant, _wow, real helpful. _"Okay, maybe that wasn't as effective as I thought it would be. But still- we're a team now. And _unlike _the resistance, we're stick together. So no one's leaving, got it?"

Yakko and Wakko looked at each other and knew what they were thinking; Dot was getting into one of those take-charge-of everything phases.

Cassie slightly shrugged. "Okay. But-"

"Alrighty then." Dot stood up and dusted herself off, crossing her arms and taking a business-like stance. "So to recap, we have no idea where we are, the resistance is completely gone, there's no one left to help us, Griselda is in a kill-on- sightmood, and we're basically walking right into her trap."

"Bingo." Cassie said somberly.

"Well then," Dot said, motioning for them to follow her. "I suggest we get a move on and find a way off this hunk of rock."

…_._

"Wake up! NARF! Wake up, Skippy!"

An annoying voice waking him up before the sun was even up? Perfect.

Skippy rolled over on the hay-strewn stable floor, groaning. "Go away…"

"But-"

"Go away!" Skippy couldn't see where he blindly threw it, but he hoped the mouse got a mouthful of straw.

Pinky's voice switched to begging mode. "Please, Skippy! Please get up? Please? Please please please please please please please pl-"

"Pinky!" Skippy moaned, kicking around on his hay pillow. "This is the only time they let us sleep, you know!"

"But Skippy! Pharfignewton's back!"

Skippy cracked open one bloodshot eye. Sure enough, there was a tall white horse standing behind a small white mouse who was grinning ear to ear. "Really?"

Everyone had known that the horse had been missing for days but no one knew why. Mostly, they'd figured she had run off during the mayhem and gotten lost. But she was back, and since nothing else great had happened in the past week, Skippy was overjoyed again.

Even though his head ached from getting zero sleep last night, he jumped up and grinned like Pinky too. "That's awesome! Is she okay?"

"As dreamy as ever!" Pinky exclaimed, hugging onto one of her hooves. "And she told me what happened while she was gone."

"That's great," Skippy said, almost falling back down on his pillow. Okay, he was happy, but he seriously needed to sleep right now instead of talking about how a horse had frolicked through a meadow while she was gone.

_Maybe if I sleep with my eyes open he won't notice, _he thought.

"She said that she was in the stables," Pinky started. "Then Yakko, Wakko, Dot and this other girl came in, and then they rode her for a while until this big scary army came and scared her off! So she left them and tried to find her way back home, and on her way, she ate this really great grass that tasted like-"

"What?" Skippy yelled. Then he covered his mouth, hoping he hadn't woken anyone else up. He turned back to Pinky and scream-whispered, "_What?"_

"_She… ate… this… really… good… grass…" _Pinky said slowly like he was talking to a two year old.

"No, before that! Yakko, Wakko, and Dot? This other girl? _That's _where they went?" Skippy couldn't believe this… he had to tell his Aunt Slappy, and Plotz, most importantly.

"NARF! Well, I think so, but what does it matter?" Pinky said, looking up in confusion.

Sippy bent down, and whispered, "It matters a lot. Meet me and Aunt Slappy outside the stables at midnight tonight. We need to talk; a lot."

**Okay I don't have anything else funny/interesting to say, so… Adios! Oh, and review please!**


	14. Mountain Climbing 101

**Wow, I can't believe it's the thirteenth chapter already! This better not be unlucky… Guess we'll find out. Read on… if you dare. **

_**Ex-scuuuuse me? But I thought we were hosting this chapter together. **_

**Oh yeah- Cassie's here.**

_**Oh YEAH. Like you could forget about me. **_

**Yeah, you are pretty unforgettable. (coughs) Not a compliment.**

_**Your compliments are hard to come by, so I'll take that anyway. Hey, speaking of compliments, I wanna say hey to my BFF Val from Animaniacs Go Animal, by Animanizanny! You are the awesomest.**_

**If you're done yakking I think we should get on with this-**

_**Hey, I don't yak! That's what Yakko does!**_

**Yeah, I know. It's actually been really annoying me lately.**

_**I know, right? One time I had to-**_

**(Yakko walks in) **_**This door isn't soundproof, you know.**_

**Uhhh. Chapter 13 everyone!**

**Chapter 13- Mountain Climbing 101**

Yakko grabbed instinctively, his hand scraping against black rock, staining his glove with mucky water in the process. "Ow!" He grabbed onto the wedge in the stone wall furiously, slipping and sliding, his heart beating a mile a minute. Positioning his feet, he cautiously looked over his shoulder below, and tried not to throw up when he saw the distance between him and the ground. "Whose idea was this again?" he muttered.

"Mine," came his Dot's mocking reply. "Since you're the oldest guy, it's your civic duty to go first. You're lucky I came up with this idea anyway, because otherwise we'd be stuck up here forever. Besides, you're not doing so hot either, so you'd better watch your step, genius! Literally." She admittedly added.

"Oh, you think?" Yakko said, glaring up at her. Dot was sitting up with Wakko and Cassie on the edge of the mouth of the cave. Yakko, however, was in a bit of a more precarious situation; he was basically clinging onto the side of the mountain, hands and feet dug into the cracks and crevices of the rocky surface. _Just test out the way going down, Yakko, that's all we want you to do, _Dot had said. _Then we'll follow you, and before you know it, we'll all be back on the ground, safe and sound. _

_Yeah, right. _Yakko thought. _Try rock-wall climbing without a harness like me, and then we'll see how you feel. _

It was still late in the morning, cloudy and humid. Yakko could see dark clouds off into the distance, and he figured that if even a small storm was coming, they had to hurry and get going quickly or they'd be screwed. One teensy slip and you were a goner. And to make matters worse for them, the wind was starting to pick up, and every time a sudden gust of wind blew against him, Yakko jumped and darn near lost his grip on the slippery surface. Just then, it happened again; the air sharply blew up and he fought to keep holding on by his fingernails. Yakko squeezed his eyes shut and took deep breaths.

"Hey Yakko, do you think it's safe enough?" Wakko asked.

"It's a picnic in the sun."

Wakko shrugged. "Good enough for me. So, um… Dot, you want to go first?"

"Huh… isn't there an expression…. Oh yeah! It's _brothers_ first." Dot smirked.

"Yeah, and annoying sisters second." Wakko replied, swinging his legs over the side.

Cassie stopped Dot's arm before it did something drastic. "Girls who are getting tired of the sibling rivalry third."

"Okay, okay." Wakko looked down nervously at the ground that was so far away. "That's… a long way down. Are you sure there's no other way we can get off this mountain?"

"Unless we can somehow fly off into the sunset, this is the only way." Yakko replied irritably, his hands slipping again.

Wakko eventually lowered himself down closer to him. "This is gonna take _forever." _He complained.

"This is the only way we're going to survive… hopefully." Dot said, following Wakko.

Cassie went after Dot; so now they were all hanging onto the edge of the rock, dangling between life and death. And what made it even easier? The harsh wind and freezing temperature, of course. Yakko was positive it hadn't been this cold last night; or maybe that was just because Cassie had been leaning on him, warming him up a little. And then she had somehow ended up on his lap…

_Okay, stop! Focus._ He told himself. _If you're gonna somehow survive this weird chapter of your life, don't let your mind go wandering off whilst you're clinging onto life as you know it. _Yakko didn't know why he was giving _himself _a pep talk, but it seemed to be working. So as he grabbed onto the ledges and rocks, he did his best to push all recurring distractions out of his head.

They climbed towards the ground in silence for a while; it almost could have been peaceful, Yakko thought. They were, after all, surrounded by picturesque snow capped mountains and forest. It was almost like a post card; Yakko pictured sending one back to Acme Falls.

_Hey! We're all having a great time on the side of a cliff in what is most likely Ticktockia! Wish you were here! _Yeah, that would give them a good laugh. Wishing they were there with them, on the run from a psychotic army.

Actually, the post card thing was starting to seem useful. After all, did the folks back home even know where they were? Yakko had never even thought about that until now. When they had left home, the decision had seemed kind of last minute; Yakko hadn't considered what they would think when suddenly the very people who ran the kingdom vanished. Maybe if they had stayed things wouldn't be so bad over there. And he didn't even know what the heck had happened to Acme Falls; had it been destroyed? Remodeled? Forgotten? Only time would tell.

_We _are _going to fix this. Griselda may be a queen, but she doesn't know us Warners that well if she thinks we're going down without a fight. _

Yakko found himself thinking about Acme Falls again; how it had been so great after they'd gotten rid of Salazar. He'd never thought he would see the town back to normal ever again. And here they were, the town probably ruined for the second time, and he wasn't even there to help out.

But then again, he was _here, _busting his butt to save the town, for the second time in his life. He had to make sure he didn't die or anything, because after he got back, he was scouring the country for anyone or anything that could make this happen again. He'd heard that saying, _history repeats itself. _Sure, it might be inevitable that yet another wack job would rise to power and take over, but Yakko didn't want anything else going wrong. He had already come way too close to death three times too many_. _

But digging himself out of his pit of contemplation, Yakko felt uneasiness start to worm its way back inside him; there were the dark, ominous clouds that were staring to roll in to worry about. Every once in a while, it would thunder and lightning would flash across the sky.

Turning his head to look at the rest of them, Yakko asked, "How's everyone doing?"

"Argh! This stupid mountain is making me break my nails!" Dot raged. Yakko raised an eyebrow. "Right, that's our biggest concern here."

"If _you_ were a girl, which would be emotionally scarring for everyone to see, by the way, you wouldn't last a single day-"

Wakko interrupted, a rare event. "Am I the only one wondering about what happened to Rosetta?"

The only sound was the wind howling rather loudly, as everyone looked down to think. Even Dot stopped her current statement toward Yakko. "I don't know… Cassie, did you find out anything about her in your dream? "

Cassie shook her head. "I didn't see her at all."

Wakko almost missed a rock, slipping and grabbing for it at the last minute. "So you think she's…"

Cassie looked down, and frowned. Yakko knew what she was thinking; it was a hard decision. Tell him the truth, or lie and say that everything was fine. Personally, Yakko didn't think that anyone could have survived at all. Why would Rosetta be any different from anyone else?

Besides, Yakko knew what it was like when someone told him that "everything was okay". Sometimes, people needed to get a grip and realize that everything was not okay; honestly, was there anything that had happened to them in the past week that could be thought of as "okay"? They had been chased, attacked, dropped down waterfalls, and more. And worst; they kept running away from the danger, leaving everyone else in the dust. Acme Falls, the resistance; Rosetta, mostly. Back when she had told them to run, Yakko hadn't wanted to, for a minute, at least. He'd wanted to stay and fight but she had insisted; and Yakko didn't want his sibs getting hurt. So again, they had to high-tail it out of there, and start back at square one.

Cassie finally answered Wakko. "I think we'll have to wait and see. It's okay, once we get out of this, we'll do everything we can to find out. I promise." Wakko nodded but still didn't look very reassured.

Yakko wanted to reach over and pat him on the back or something, but he figured if he did, it would be the last thing he'd ever do. So he settled for just saying, "Hang in there, Wak."

Wakko smiled a little, his tongue hanging out like always. That made Yakko feel a bit better; he'd always admired his brother's ability to stay cheerful no matter what. At least someone here had hope- Yakko knew they were going to need it.

Time passed without Yakko even noticing. After all, every rock on the entire stupid mountain looked the same. But eventually, Yakko could tell that they were making progress. The seemingly distant ground was getting a bit closer every once in a while; but it was still far away enough to end their lives if they slipped and fell. _Way to be an optimist, Yakko. Think happy thoughts and you'll be able to fly like Peter Pan… which would actually be quite helpful right now. _

Pretty soon, they were all about halfway down; but the wind was certainly not improving. Huge gusts of it were howling every second, as if it actually wanted to blow them straight to their deaths. Yakko was eyeing them all, making sure no one eventually was ripped from the rock altogether.

Dot was getting out of breath as large, dark clouds started to roll in. "How much farther to the bottom?"

Cassie slowly turned her head to see. "It's hard to tell…" she yelled over the wind.

"Whatever, we have to get of the mountain fast before the storm gets here!" Yakko shouted.

Wakko looked at him. "Oh, so the storm's not here _already_?"

Yakko looked around; the wind was starting to reach the standards of hurricane weather, and the dark clouds, if possible, were getting closer and darker. You couldn't even tell if it was day or night. The clouds and wind were definitely out to get them.

"We just have to go faster!" Dot yelled.

"Uh, that could raise a bit of a problem; slipping and falling!" said Cassie.

"You have a better idea?" Dot retorted, stepping down onto the only available surface below her; Yakko's face.

"Hey!" he yelled, squirming around and flailing his arms. For a minute he lost his grip on the wall, and as Dot peeled her foot off of his face, his heart started pounding as he felt that sensation like when you miss a step down a flight of stairs; he was falling.

"Yakko!" Yakko could barely hear her over the wind, but he saw Dot reach down and catch his hand before it was too late. Yakko almost fainted when he saw how far he could have fallen. But sweet relief washed over him, and his heart continued to race as he gathered his senses and latched back onto the wall before he started to drag Dot down with him.

_Perfect timing, _he thought, as he felt cold raindrops start to fall on his head and arms. As he glanced up to get another look at the storm, something fluttering around in the wind caught his eye. It took him a few seconds, but after he squinted and focused he realized; it was the picture of him and his family, the only thing he had to remember his parents by.

"No!" he yelled, uselessly reaching out for it. _It must have fallen out of my pocket! Why didn't I put it in a safer place?_

It flew farther and farther away from him, getting lost in the now pouring rain. Yakko slipped and caught himself, but he still gazed after it, watching its last feeble flight attempts before it sank into the dark trees.

"No," he whispered, tears stinging his eyes. _Why did I have to lose that, out of all the other junk in my pockets? _

He wanted to throttle himself for losing it, even though it wasn't his entire fault. It was just that the picture had been the one single solitary thing he had left of his parents. It seemed like an insult to their memory to be so careless with it- and the only other thing he could do was take care of Wakko and Dot, which brought him back to the present moment where everyone was yelling at him for some reason.

"Yakko, I don't think I can hold on any more!" Wakko yelled, fighting to stay upright. The girls screamed their agreement, slipping and ferociously trying to get ahold of something solid to hold them up. Yakko found himself in the same situation; the whole mountain was getting too slippery and wet to climb down. He found that when he moved his foot even the slightest bit, he began to slide down. The side they were climbing down was practically vertical, so if they even lost the entire grip for one second, they could plummet down to the ground.

"Hang on!" was all he could think to say. "Just hold on to something, anything!"

At the same moment, a horrifying impact shattered their eardrums; huge chunks of mountain went flying as an abnormally large bolt of lightning struck the top of the mountain. Enormous vibrations seemed to shake the world along with the huge landform, and the four of them were thrown off their holds on the rock.

Yakko's heart kicked back into adrenaline mode as they all began to fall. Raindrops felt more like shards of glass tearing into his skin rather than water; but it didn't really matter how much it hurt. Nothing really does when you were free falling from two thousand feet.

Screaming their heads off, Yakko, Cassie, Wakko and Dot still fell, flailing around and tumbling, bumping into each other, grabbing for things that weren't there. Yakko shut his eyes tightly, not caring if anyone was yelling his name or clawing at him for someone to hold on to. He didn't want to know when he was going to hit, or when any of the others were. Raindrops began to feel more and more like acid, and he felt like his whole body was going to freeze up and crack like crystal because of the biting wind.

Suddenly, amidst all the panic and confusion, the piercing rain ceased. All their screams went from barely heard over the howling wind, to loudly echoing all around them. Yakko tried to open his eyes but never got the chance before he painfully hit solid ground, bouncing and skidding across it before coming to a burning stop.

Yakko lost track of the time as he lay there for who knew how long. Shock was still coursing through his nervous system, and his heart was still reaching horrifying speeds. His back and sides felt like they'd just experienced the world's worst carpet burn- but he figured it was probably something like the ground of the cave they had slept in last night, considering the way the stony ground felt against his cheek. He didn't know what had just happened, but he was pretty sure they had survived. In a very, very painful way.

Yakko could hear the other three's coughs and groans on either side of him. Deciding he'd napped long enough, he inhaled and managed to open his eyes.

_Uh oh. _He couldn't even tell if he was opening his eyes or not; it was pitch black wherever they were. But he had a feeling that they were inside somewhere because every little sound someone made was turned into an echo that traveled throughout the entire… room, he guessed? Judging by the vibrations, it sounded like a ginormous cave, ten thousand times bigger than the cave they'd recently spent the night in.

"Can we go _five minutes _without something totally crazy happening?" Dot moaned.

Yakko still didn't move. "At least we didn't go ker-splat and land in the forest."

"Really? What's your definition of _ker-splat_, Yakko? 'Cause I'm pretty sure we just ker-splatted ourselves into an alternate dimension or something. I am so sick and tired of this happening!"

"Join the club, sis." Said Yakko, rubbing his head where it had smashed into the floor.

"Does anyone have a match… lantern… any small bit of light we can use to see anything around here?" Cassie's disembodied voice said.

"Nope."

"Not really."

"I don't think so."

"Fabulous. So now we're stuck here?"

"Unless you have another magic trick up your sleeve, then yes." Yakko snapped. He didn't really know why he was being snippy with her all of a sudden, but he figured he was feeling like Dot- peeved with all the surprising turns of events.

"Well when you decide when you want to help me out with battling with the severe headache after I do that, then I'll give you a call." She retorted.

"Oh, that's convenient."

"You think I _like _the side effects, Yakko? Maybe you need to get your priorities straight."

"MY main priority right now is to make sure we all don't die, and considering we almost just did, I think it's fair for me to complain a little! And _excuse_ me, but I don't remember you _asking _us if we wanted to get blown off the mountain."

Yakko couldn't see at all, but he could tell she was instantly infuriated.

"Wh- You think that lightning back there was _my _fault?"

"Oh, my mistake! Considering all the other stuff you can do, like for example, _blowing stuff up, _that last explosion didn't seem to make an exception!"

"Guys-" Wakko tried to say.

Yakko heard her stand up. "Okay, first of all, I can't _blow stuff up, _but right now I'm wishing I _could. _Second, like I said, that wasn't my fault! If you think I actually _wanted _us to fall off, then you're seriously stupider than I thought."

Yakko painfully scraped himself up, too. "So you're saying that that lightning was just a freak accident." _And I am not stupid!_

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Maybe if you'd shut your big mouth for more than a couple seconds, you'd understand that I'm on your guy's side."

Yakko's heart pounded in is chest, and not because he'd just fallen two thousand feet. "And maybe if _you _would quit playing with your dumb necklace and actually listen to real people instead of your little fan club, you'd understand that I couldn't care less."

He could tell he'd touched a nerve. "_That's it! _Where are you?" she raged.

Yakko snickered. "You'll never find me, I guess."

"You better hope I d-"

"GUYS!" Wakko yelled. His voice echoed through the… wherever they were, startling them both out of their own little combat universe.

"Nice, Wakko." Dot complimented. Then she snapped back into her annoyed attitude. "Yakko, Cassie- you're _both _being stupid right now. So quit fighting, because at this point we really can't afford for any more battles of the wits. So if you guys have problems with each other, build a bridge and get over it, because if we don't pull ourselves together we're never going to get out of this mess! Now both of you make up and get along so we can do this. Agreed?" She paused.

"Whatever." They said in unison.

"Great, glad that's over." Dot said, as if that was that. Oh, _this is SO not over, _Yakko thought, eyeing Cassie's dark figure angrily, his eyes having adjusted to the complete darkness. He couldn't be sure, but he had a hunch she was doing the same to him.

Dot continued, "So now… the task at hand: finding out where on earth we are and what just happened. Wakko, any ideas?"

"I think I have a torch in my gag bag somewhere… Hold on." Wakko said, as everyone heard him digging through his stuff. Yakko slapped a gloved hand over his face in frustration. _He had light the whole time, and we could have avoided that little spat over whose fault the lightning was? Great timing, brother sib. _

Finally, Wakko struck a match, lit a torch, and soon blinding light filled their eyes. Yakko immediately shut them, but when his eyes adjusted _again, _he saw they were inside an even bigger cave than the one before- he had been right. It looked like a mine shaft- an enormous looming ceiling made of dark stone had dripping stalactites hanging like icicles. The walls and ground were bumpy and rocky, but what really struck Yakko was that the whole thing was just so immensely huge- it looked like it never ended. Yeah, it probably was a mine shaft, it looked big enough.

Getting a good look at his surroundings, he then turned back to the rest of them- Wakko was standing in the middle of them, holding up the torch, and Dot, Cassie and Yakko were standing around him.

"Whoa…" Wakko said. "Are we… _inside _a mountain?"

Dot nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off the ceiling. "You know, I think you're right."

Cassie looked skeptical. "But that's crazy. The only reason a mountain would be completely hollowed out is if it were-"

"A mine shaft?" Yakko said, pointing to the mine cars and tracks he'd just noticed way over in the far-off left corner.

Dot smiled. "Maybe us falling in here wasn't so bad after all."

Cassie had that worried expression again. "No, this is still very bad! That big hunk of rock that got blown off by the lighting, which had _nothing _to do with me, by the way," she glared at Yakko, who scowled. "It landed on top of where we fell in, and it's blocking the only way out. Was I the only one looking when we fell in here?" she asked.

"No, I saw it too." Wakko pitched in. "Yeah, it fell in right over our heads. So now we can't get out… unless those mine cars will take us somewhere where we can."

Yakko nodded. "I'm betting that they're our only chance if we want to get out of here and live to tell the tale."

"Shall we?" Dot gestured towards them. "Last one there is a rotten Salad Bar!"

**Hey guys, I know I didn't say it before at the beginning (I finally managed to throw BOTH of those jokers out) but I am SO sorry it took so long to update. I wish I had a reasonable explanation but sadly, I do not. I plead guilty :( But I'm going to do my best to make sure it's not too long before the next update. Please review! Peace out.**


	15. Darkness

**Ahhhhhh! I'm SO SORRY I took so long, I apologize a million times. But I really hope this chapter makes up for it. Enjoy it. By the way, to my recent reviewers, Kendra Sorenson and BelowTheWind, thanks so much for your amazing reviews. I love you guys already, and I hope you're looking forward to the rest of the story. Okay, ranting over, bye! **

**Chapter 14- Darkness**

"I call shotgun!" Wakko yelled as he jumped inside the rusty car. Everyone hastily followed after him, taking care not to trip over stray rocks the size of microwave ovens. The light bounced and danced on the walls, shaking because of Wakko waving the torch around like a flag. Yakko stubbed his toe on a rock but he bit his lip to keep from having any embarrassing reaction in front of Cassie. She was walking ahead of him, not even glancing back.

Dot raised an eyebrow. "… There _is_ no shotgun."

"Well, I called it first." Wakko said, crossing his arms. Every little movement he made shook the cart and made it tip over a little. Wakko steadied himself on it, trying to balance it out, but it was seriously rickety.

"Is this thing safe?" Dot asked, laying a hand on it, only to upset it more.

Wakko shrugged. "Probably not. It looks like it's older than Dr. Scratchy, it's got rust on the wheels and the tracks don't look in very good shape. But that's what makes it fun, right?" he smiled and motioned for them to climb inside.

"We'll never fit in there all at once." Yakko finally said.

Dot looked around for a moment, and pointed to their right. "Well we're in luck- there's another one over there." Sure enough, there was another tiny little mine car with its own set of tracks leading into darkness. It seemed almost half a football field away from them, though. There was no telling where it would go or if it was just a stable or maybe even worse than the car they had in front of them. All Yakko could get out of the situation was that both cars looked big enough to maybe hold two people each.

"What do you think?" Wakko asked them. "Should we go?"

"I'll go with you," Yakko automatically said, sliding in. Cassie still didn't look at him.

Dot looked around, frowning. "But how do we know where this thing goes? Wakko said it- these things are old enough to have grandchildren. What if the tracks give out, or worse? What if the two sets of tracks don't even go the same way? We could get separated. What if-"

"Enough with the what if game. We need to do something or we'll be stuck in this conveniently placed mine shaft forever." Yakko said. Cassie scowled and looked, if possible, even farther away from him.

"Just saying." Dot muttered irritably. "We have to take chances, I get it, but if we get separated that's not good. This place must be huge; we'd never find each other again."

Yakko looked down, his sister's logical reasoning hitting him in the face. It made sense. Separation wasn't an option. There was no telling where this would go or what the cars would do. And aside the fact that dying would suck, they would have let everyone in Acme Falls down- not a good way to be a king.

Yakko gritted his teeth. Why did this have to be so difficult? Sighing, he finally said, "There's no other way. We'll have to split up and see where this goes, and pray we'll end up together at the end of it."

Dot looked down, thinking. Then she slowly nodded. "Okay. We'll see you on the other side." She and Cassie turned and started making their way to the other side of the cave. Yakko looked after them for longer than he probably should have, and then turned back to Wakko, who was smirking at him.

"You're never gonna talk to her again, are you?"

He scoffed. "I think I'd talk to my own sister."

"You _know _who I'm talking about." Wakko shook his head.

Yakko grabbed the sides of the car hurriedly before it tipped again. "I am not having this conversation."

Wakko shrugged it off and said, "Okay, how bout this one- why are you mad at her?"

"I'm… frustrated." He said, which was partly true. "And I'm not having this conversation."

"Suit yourself, Yakko. But if I were you, I'd talk to her about it, whatever problem it is you guys have."

"It's not a problem! It's just..." _Me. _"It's fine." He lied, looking straight down. "Now help me move this lever, it won't budge."

Wakko rolled his eyes and mumbled something about changing the subject, but he rolled up his sleeves and tugged on it while Yakko pushed.

"Argh! It's not moving!" he strained. "If I push any harder it's going to break." They both let go, catching their breath.

"What do we do?"

"I… think…. I can get it." Wakko panted. "Wait a second." He pulled out his mallet and pounded the lever with it.

Yakko looked skeptical; the impact of the blow shook the floor a little bit, and the lever tilted a bit sideways. "Great, you broke it. The mallet isn't the answer to everything, you know!"

Wakko smiled guiltily. "Oh, whatever. It was broken before anyways."

Yakko folded his arms across his chest and leaned back. "Whatever floats your boat, sib. But now what?" Wakko thought. "I could hit it again."

"I'm serious! We'll never get out of here unless-" He was cut off by a deafening creaking sound that carried out through the whole mine shaft, bouncing off unseen walls and getting louder and louder. Wakko and his expressions both turned alert, and as they looked at each other, Yakko's heart picked up speed. Everything was deathly silent after it was over; the two brothers didn't dare make a sound.

Then it came again- a loud creaking noise that wood made before it was about to break, to crack, split in two. Wakko's breathing started getting faster- the temperature was dropping rapidly.

_What's going on? _He thought. _I though the worst was over when we almost cracked our heads open on that mountain, and now it's even more dangerous inside of it? _

The creaking wasn't about to stop- but it came for the third time; and this time something happened. A far ways off, Yakko and Wakko could hear it- screaming. Familiar screaming.

_It sounds like Cassie and Dot._ Yakko hadn't had the thought any sooner than Wakko had; he was about to swing a leg over the car when he saw the broken lever clank to the other side by itself. His eyes widened; the creaking and groaning of the tracks was louder than ever.

Then, without warning, the car jerked forward into darkness. Yakko heard his own scream mingle with others as he felt the mine car zoom forward through a world he couldn't see- he gripped the sides of the car so hard it was surprising him that they weren't breaking off. He could feel himself going up, down; felt the swooping feeling in his stomach you get on a roller-coaster. Jerking and yanking sideways, the car went even further into the unknown; they were going too fast, they were surely going to crash-

_We have to jump. _Maybe it was that the cave was driving him insane, or it was another one of his crazy jump-for-your-life ideas, but at the moment, Yakko was ready to do anything extreme to save their lives. He grabbed Wakko's arm.

"Jump!" he screamed over the sound of metal wheels screeching on the tracks.

"Are you crazy?" his brother yelled back. "We'll die!"

"We'll die if we don't jump right now!" Yakko said, pointing. "Look!" Wakko turned to face a terrifying sight- they were headed for a dead end where the tracks led into a deep trench full of blackness. Then the tracks stopped completely as if someone had ripped the rest away from them; if the two of them didn't find some way to get off, they would both be flung to their deaths.

"We can't jump; we'll get ground into the floor! We're going too fast!" Wakko was panicking. "Yakko, what do we do?"

He couldn't say anything. All he could do was stare at his brother's horrified face and imagine them plummeting down into nothingness.

"Wait!" Yakko yelled, finally having an idea. He dropped to his knees, his numb fingers fumbling around the metal cart, searching desperately.

"What are you doing?" Wakko said, his voice trembling.

"Get down. Hold on to the sides of the cart right now and just trust me!" Yakko must've been using some heck of a tone because Wakko immediately obeyed.

They were running out of time; any minute now they would be hurtling to the bottom of the trench. Wakko squeezed his eyes shut and looked away while Yakko uselessly searched around for the thing he was looking for with no luck. The screeching of wheels on tracks was deafening, and they were going too fast to see much of anything else. Then he saw it- they were about to go over-

When suddenly it stopped. Sparks flew under the wheels as the tiny car came to a creaky stop just short of the edge. Yakko and Wakko both sighed and clutched their hearts, shaking.

"How… what…"

Yakko hoisted himself out of the flimsy car and pulled Wakko out too, to show him what he had finally found just before they'd gone over the edge:

"An emergency brake?" Wakko said disbelievingly, squinting at the tiny lever on the side of the cart. It looked so small and insignificant that it was a miracle Yakko had found it in time.

"You can thank me later." Yakko panted. "That was _way _too close."

Wakko crept over to the edge of the cliff to get a look at it. "I'll say. Look how much clearance we had." He was right- it was just about half a foot, or they would have gone over completely.

Yakko shook his head. "Wow. I'm just glad I remembered seeing that emergency break before we got in this death machine."

Wakko scratched his head. "What made that lever back there turn? I thought I broke it."

"Me too. _Something_ must have done it… But I don't know what. Whatever it was, anyway… it didn't exactly look like an accident."

Wakko nodded. "Yeah, neither did us falling in here in the first place."

"It has to be Griselda." Yakko said, more to himself than Wakko. "The lady's had it out for us all this time, and I don't think that carnival ride back there was a coincidence."

"Then it settled. We're doomed." Wakko said with a grim expression.

"Maybe not- we just have to get out of here before anything else happens- we need to find Cassie and Dot!" he'd only just remembered. "But they could be anywhere in here, there's no telling where they went!"

No sooner had he said it, than the two of them heard screaming and a crash coming from far off- not close, but close enough.

"I think we just found them." Wakko said, and with that being said, they both took off running in that direction.

…

"Did anyone die?" Dot asked feebly from her spot on the ground.

Cassie raised a hand to feel her face. "No. Still very bruised though." She said, although she felt cuts and bruises already beginning to disappear. The only light they had was coming from her necklace, and at the moment, it was blinding.

Dot rolled over and looked, blinking to get crud out of her eyes, at their busted up cart. "That idiot. I _told _him this would happen, but does he listen to me? Noooo, everything must be done by the expert. Never listen to the girl who speaks common sense."

It hadn't been fun- one minute the pair of them had been trying to figure out how to get the cart moving when suddenly it had seemed to take on a mind of its own and launch onto the tracks itself. Screaming through darkness, they had been on the demon roller coaster for less than a minute, but it didn't take long to see that they were headed for a dead-end wall. Cassie had been thinking that if they didn't do something, they'd end up like bugs on a windshield, but in the confusion and screaming, she couldn't think straight.

Then, miraculously, the cart stopped literally in its tracks, and the girls were thrown down into a pit that wasn't too far off; meaning the fall hopefully didn't kill them.

_Why are we always falling? _Cassie wondered. _It really is amazing that we all aren't concussed by now. _She was still trying to calm her heart rate- she'd never done anything like that in her life… except falling off a mountain, but those experiences came pretty close in her opinion.

Dot was still talking, and Cassie would have loved to hear her carry on about Yakko's idiocy, but right now there were more important things to do. "Dot… I know you're mad at him right now. Heck, I am too, but… we have to go find them. We can't do this by ourselves, and, well, they obviously can't do it by themselves," She said, cracking a smile that Dot almost shared.

"Kay. But even though we almost just crashed into a wall, I need to talk to you- that fight you and Yakko had… you seem really mad at him."

"That's 'cause I am." Cassie said, not wanting to talk about it at all.

"Well, thanks for the detailed response," Dot said, sitting next to her. "But it can't be just that. What's on your mind?"

"I don't know… I guess he's just mad at me all of a sudden and I didn't even do anything. I mean, that lightning was _not my fault_, obviously, so I just got mad that he wanted to blame me for it. I've always been a little annoyed by him, but I never wanted to do something like that to any of you; you've been really nice to me… well two of you, mostly. And I didn't want this to happen. But it looks like it is, anyway." Cassie sat against the rocky wall, feeling her heart hurt each time it beat. _Huh… I guess I did want to talk about it._

Dot sat there, thinking. "So he's mad at you for no reason. Huh, been there, done that."

"Is that seriously all you got out of my little speech there?" Cassie said, smiling.

"No. Here's what _I _think." Dot took a deep breath. "Okay. It sort of makes sense that you and Yakko are fighting, first of all. Yakko is such a smart aleck I'm surprised he gets away with it, and you're easily the same. Normally, Yakko tries to go for the girls who are pretty, but don't know how to tie their own shoes. Then you came in, and ever since he met you, I've noticed… he's been different. I thought you would maybe go for a day or two, but you resisted him, and I think he's a bit shocked by that. Well, I mean, for him, it's a big stab in the ego. But that's never stopped him before, so he kept trying… in a different way. I've seen him with girls, and you were not part of his daily Yakko routine. Most of the time. Reason he's not always drooling all over you? He gets too distracted by girl's looks, and no offense, but you're no Hello Nurse."

"Who?"

Dot waved it off. "Ah, some lady whose body defies the laws of human nature, but it's not important. The point is, whether you're super gorgeous or not, he's going to like you for you, not the way you look. And for a guy like him, that's a hard thing to do, so congrats. But-"

"Here it comes." Cassie sighed.

"I was _going _to say that you're the hardest thing he's ever had to do." Dot seemed satisfied with Cassie's questioning look. "Confused? Well, as you can probably tell, Yakko never gets too attached to some girl. Ever. The only girl he's known for longer than a week is me; so we can safely assume that you are his Mount Everest- he likes you but he doesn't want to believe it. I think if he were a _normal _guy," she said with a smirk, "it'd be different. But… all silliness aside, he really likes you, but he's getting nervous and pushing his feelings away. Don't worry about it- he's just a stupid guy, afraid of commitment. They all come around sooner or later. Now all _you _have to do is find out if you like him back."

Cassie sat there for a minute, processing everything. "Wow… you're just… really smart about this stuff."

"Duh. It's what I do! Just never with Yakko. I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be tough. I've seen so many girls come and go, you're going to-" Dot saw Cassie's face. "Right, sorry."

"So that's why you think he's mad at me. Because he likes me." She said skeptically.

"That's what I said." Dot got a smug look on her face. "And to bring us back to my question which you so cleverly evaded, do you like him back?" She waited patiently.

"I… I don't… Well…"

"Good answer," Dot said, rolling her eyes. "It's so obvious, anyway."

Cassie got worried. "Hey, it's not that I-"

"Hey! Guys! It's Wakko!" There was a voice way overhead- and it was telling the truth. Cassie could almost make out a red cap and blue turtleneck, and the guy who was wearing them, waving down at them from a ledge high above.

"Wakko!" Dot yelled. "Where's Yakko?" Cassie felt relieved- for Wakko, and that she didn't have to answer the question anymore.

"He's behind me, coming in a second. How did you get down there?"

"It was our brilliant brother's idea, but that's not important right now." Dot said shrewdly. "Can you get us out of here?"

Wakko hesitated. "Yeah, if I can find a rope long enough- hold on…" Cassie could hear distant clangs and thuds, like stuff was being tossed over Wakko's shoulder as he dug around.

Sooner or later, a rope came snaking down until it fell with about two feet to spare.

Dot shook her head. "I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for Wakko's gag bag," she sighed, as she grabbed on and started pulling herself up. Cassie waited for her to gain some height before grabbing on. She looked at the old bandages on her hand and ripped them off, realizing she didn't need them anymore. In fact, she felt like her hands were so strong that she could punch a bunch of Tick's lights out. But no matter how strong she felt, she couldn't help the raging river of confusion inside her as she grabbed onto the rope and began to climb.

_She's wrong about him- if he liked me he wouldn't be such a jerk right now._

_Or maybe that's why, _another voice said. _You know how guys are- in a word, crazy. So enjoy it while you can before he moves on to the next girl. Let's face it- you're no different. And coincidentally, if he does have feelings for you, would you be willing to return them?_

Cassie shook her head, almost losing balance and letting go of the rope. What was she thinking? Were those even her thoughts… or someone else's?

_And if you do want to return them, _it continued, _how do you know it's for real? Forget what Dot said- you're not different. You're just one of the crowd, and if you fall for him he'll blow past you and break your heart. It's best to just leave it alone and forget him. You know you like him- but what's the point? _

Cassie wanted to scream at whatever it was that was making her think those things- but some part of her stopped struggling and waited for a moment, just to actually consider believing it. For the first time, she actually wondered if maybe she _did_, even though she'd never admit it to him, like Yakko just a tiny bit.

Okay, it was a totally stupid idea to think about. First of all, if she did like him, she'd be falling for his charm and good looks and be one of those stupid airheads who actually thought she might have a chance with him. Second, if she was even thinking about this at all, it meant she was going insane.

Cassie knew that she wasn't the type who fell in love easily… the only things she fell in love with were books, and she wanted it to stay that way. Besides she regularly didn't even think about boys and drama and all that junk. She couldn't recall the last time she'd had a crush on anyone. She wasn't very social anyway, so meeting people wasn't on her daily checklist. Boys never stared at her when she walked down the street, and she didn't stare at them. It had all been fine, she realized, until Yakko had come along. Then, she guessed spending so much time with him and Wakko and Dot, her boy-liking radar had gotten all out of whack.

_So that's it then, _she silently rejoiced. _It's not that I like him, it's just me and my weird crazy self. Nothing to worry about. _

_Oh, but there is, _the other voice warned, with a gleeful _I-know-something-you-don't_ kind of tone. _You _do _like him. And when you fall for him, he's going to dump you like a sack of trash. _

_Shut up, _Cassie thought, anger beginning to flicker inside her.

_I don't think so, _it said. Then Cassie's head exploded with pain; a searing flash of agony coursed through her brain, causing her to cry out, shutting her eyes and clutching the rope with all her might in a futile attempt to make it stop. But the pain went away just as it had started, leaving her in a dull state of relief, but the hint of a killer headache lingering.

"What's wrong?" Dot sung around and looked down at her, concern in her eyes.

"N-nothing." She gasped. "I scratched my leg on the rock."

Dot blinked and looked her at her a little while longer with a hint of suspicion before she turned back up and resumed climbing back up to the near ledge of the cliff. Cassie's heart beat hammered inside her chest as she strained to climb further. Suddenly her newfound strength seemed to have vanished, just like her doubts of her liking Yakko- she was forced to face the truth- if she didn't pull herself together soon, she would be just another girl for him to check off his list; and once again, she'd be left alone.

…

Although she didn't want to admit it, Dot had a mini heart attack as soon as she caught the first glimpse of her brothers when she reached the top of the ledge; seeing them alive and unscathed was like being able to have Christmas every day of the year- in a word, amazing.

Yakko helped pull her up, and after he did his annoying big-brother inspection to see that she wasn't hurt in any way, (Dot suspected he carried on a bit so he wouldn't have to help Cassie up, which Wakko gladly took the pleasure of) he squeezed the life out of her and then demanded to know what had happened since they'd split up.

Finding that she wasn't really mad at him anymore, and actually just being comforted to know that they were all still alive, Dot recounted their story of the cart almost crashing, but suddenly stopping, causing them to fall out and land themselves in a pit way down below.

"That's what happened to us!" Wakko exclaimed. "Well, we almost drove off a cliff, but we stopped the cart in time and we get out and found you guys as soon as we could."

"How did you stop it from going off the cliff?" Cassie asked.

"We found an emergency brake on the side of the cart, and it's a pretty good thing we did." Wakko smiled, ignoring Yakko, who was muttering, "We?" under his breath.

"Well, that's weird- our car braked too but we didn't press anything." Dot said.

Wakko shrugged. "Maybe they're connected or something. I don't know, it doesn't matter- we're all alive, and I think we should at least be happy for that."

Dot yawned. "Right. But now my whole body's sorer than the time when we hid in that cabinet for hours just to scare Scratchy's pants off- I need to go to sleep."

"I second that." Cassie offered. "Maybe we should just keep going in the morning."

"Yeah, you're right," Wakko said. "Let's get off this cliff and find a more comfortable place where we hopefully won't get ambushed or something."

"Onward," Dot said halfheartedly, and started off in a random direction. She noticed Yakko wasn't saying anything- neither was Cassie.

_They really are pissed at each other. Maybe when we wake up in the morning we'll all be a little less crabby. _She hoped so. If things continued on in the direction they were going now, she'd have to keep both of them in separate cages to keep them from murdering each other. _Things ain't going so well are they?_

…

Yakko tossed and turned, and even though the fire Wakko had set up had pretty much burnt out, and he was more tired and sore than he'd ever been in his life, he'd been lying awake for hours. The rest of them had already gone to sleep ages ago, and since Wakko's snoring had been going on forever. Yakko knew he was going to be a zombie in the morning.

_For the love of God, why can't I go to sleep?_ He turned over on his other side, already knowing it wasn't going to make him any more comfortable, when he saw a the shadow of a figure sitting a couple feet away from the fire.

_Yep- it's Cassie. Just the person I need to talk to. _Yakko knew he had to do something to kill time and maybe stop his eternity of boredom. _Ah, what the heck. I'm mad at her, but even I can't stand not doing anything for hours._

He sat up and walked over to her. She looked at him with a pretty blank expression.

"Sorry if I woke you up," she said quietly. "I used to be an insomniac, and apparently I still am."

Yakko was relieved she was going to talk to him- if she didn't, he didn't know what he was going to do. "Nah, I wasn't sleeping anyway." He sat down next to her.

He could tell by her look that she didn't really believe him- it did sort of sound like a lie you would just tell to be polite.

She didn't say anything else after that- and every second that passed was becoming more and more agonizing. Finally, Yakko breathed in and said, "I'm sorry about… what happened earlier today. I shouldn't have-"

"Save it. I forgive you," She said, sort of barely smiling. "I just think, for the sake of this mission, we shouldn't fight anymore. There are already people trying to kill us, so it doesn't help if we're also trying to kill each other."

Yakko felt even guiltier but also like a big weight had been lifted off him now. "You're right." _You're always right. _"I guess I was just mad because… I don't know."

"What?" she said. "Tell me."

He felt uncomfortable talking about it, but he assumed he had no other choice. "I guess… I'm just worried that we're not gonna be able to do this. What we're doing right now has been pretty dangerous so far, and we're like only halfway there. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you." _Why did I say that? _"And, um, everyone else in Acme Falls. Wakko and Dot especially." _Nice recovery, stupid._

Cassie nodded, looking off into the darkness of the enormous vastness of the mine shaft that was illuminated by the dull fire. "Me too. I'm scared to death for all of us. But we just have to keep trying. You, your brother and sister saved Acme Falls once, and you didn't give up. The reason I wanted to come with you was because I admired you three's will to keep going. And yeah, I know this all sounds totally cheesy and stuff, but you guys are amazing. I wanted to be like you." She smiled a little more. "So don't tell me you're gonna back out now, Warner."

"Never. Ticktockia's going down." He smiled with her.

She dropped her serious tone. "Good then. Glad you're enthusiastic, because we still have to find out how to get out of this mine shaft."  
>Yakko shrugged it off. "Ah, we'll improvise. It's not the best plan, but it's kept us alive so far."<p>

"Yeah, because your plans are always a _huge _success." She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, would it _kill_ you to be literal once in a while?" He pushed her shoulder over.

She pushed him back. "Right back at you, Mr. Sarcastic." They started to laugh for a minute, for no particular reason at all, but at one point he noticed her smile disappear.

"What's wrong?" he said.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep." She said suddenly, getting up and making her way back to the fire where Wakko and Dot were snoring like pigs.

Yakko watched her lay down, and then he turned back around and stared off into nothingness, feeling his heart sink like the Titanic.

_What is wrong with me?_

….

"Agh! What- have- you- been- eating?" Wakko yelled.

"Oh, look who's asking who about food!" Dot retorted as she strained to reach the grate above her.

"Hey, you both aren't exactly skin and bones," Cassie muttered.

It wasn't that long of a story to explain what they were doing- after waking up, the four of them had decided to go in the direction where they could see a tiny light that looked a million miles away, but still, it could be a way out. After half a day of walking, arguing, complaining, whining, and eating (supplied by Wakko), they had come to find a metal grate wedged in the ceiling, and through it, they could see stone walls. It meant a room, that meant a house, and that meant a way out.

The only problem was that the ceiling, which, as they had walked on, had gone from inexplicably high, to about ten feet tall. But that still was too high for anyone to reach. So Wakko had suggested climbing on Cassie's shoulders, so Dot, the lightest of all of them, could reach the grate and get it open.

Of course, Wakko wasn't the best planner in the world.

"You're stepping on my face!" Wakko complained.

"How else would you like me to do this, wise guy?" Dot's voice, loud and shrill, rang throughout the entire mine shaft. Cassie wanted to cover her ears, but with Wakko on her shoulders that was proving difficult.

"Hey, how come you're not holding anyone?" she shot irritably at Yakko, who was kicking back on a rock and watching the show.

"Shhh-" he put up a finger. "I'm savoring the moment."

Cassie tried to say something but Dot's voice cut her off. "Hey, I can see a whole… weird looking room in here."

"Oh, please tell us about it, all the while you crush my shoulders." Wakko grumbled.

"Okay, okay, I'm trying to get it open." Cassie couldn't see up, but she heard Dot tugging at it to get it open. Then she painfully realized something.

"Dot?"

"What?" She half- screeched, causing Yakko, Wakko, and Cassie to jump.

"You know I could just blast that thing open with-"

She was cut short again by the heavy grate that had been ripped from the ceiling falling to the floor and clanging to the ground an inch away from her feet.

"Or you could do that."

Yakko shook off his surprised look and got up off the floor. "I'm guessing she's a bit moody today."

"You think?" She whispered to him, over Dot's enraged shriek of _"Hurry up!"_.

"Yeah, when she doesn't sleep well, she gets teensy bit cranky." Yakko gave her an exasperated look that said _See what I have to live with?_

Cassie shrugged, partly because Wakko had finally gotten off her shoulders and she needed to move them around to make sure they weren't permanently damaged. "Guess we'd better get up there."

Wakko tossed down a rope again so they could climb up. Cassie's arms hurt the whole way, but she was determined to just get out of the mine shaft for good, as soon as possible.

Even though it wasn't that long of a way up, she still had time for her mind to wander- and what was the first thing she thought about? Last night, of course.

It had almost seemed like she had been anticipating his apology- well, all guys know they have to when they do something stupid- but after they'd gotten over the serious talk, they had started laughing together again, and… it only reminded her of what the cold, harsh voice in her head had said earlier: _Don't fall for him. _

She had to give him credit, he made it hard not to; but she just couldn't do that to herself. She'd always felt like she was alone and if she earned herself another broken heart… well, that wouldn't be good.

Before she knew it, Cassie was at the top. She pulled herself through the tiny rectangle where the grate had been, and took a look around.

Dot had been wrong- well, partially.

It was a weird room, granted. But something was off- The walls were made of brown stone. They were standing in a long hallway with what looked like jail cells; tall black bars from the ceiling to the floor. The cells didn't look like fun- only if you liked living in a tiny, confined space for the rest of your life. There were no windows, and the only lights were torches that sat in black iron holders that were hung up on the wall. The place looked old- most of the torches looked like they hadn't been lit in a million years, not to mention the layer of dust on everything, and the occasional rat skull lying on the floor.

By the time Yakko had finally pulled himself through, the rest of them had put the puzzle pieces together- they were in a dungeon.

"Well, it's been fun," Wakko said. "But I prefer the mine shaft better. I'll be off." He tried to make his way back to where the grate had been. Yakko grabbed the neck of his shirt before he could go anywhere.

"Not so fast. We have to figure out where we are first."

Dot raised an eyebrow. "I think we know."

Cassie nodded. "We made it. Ticktockia."

"It's…nice." Wakko said. "But where do we go now?"

Then their hearts stopped dead when a voice coming from one of the cells spoke. "Who's there?"

No one dared to even move. "Who is that?" a man's voice was saying.

Cassie stood completely still as she watched a man in his late thirties step into the light. He was in one of the cells, and he looked like he belonged in there, too. His clothes, hair, face and pretty much everything else were dirty. His green eyes looked like they had always been adjusted to the dark, and now the light was blinding him. His dark brown hair, though it looked dirty, shone in the torch light.

But that wasn't why Cassie was freaked out; he was staring straight at her. His eyes darted all over her, lingering on the purple jewel around her neck.

She didn't know what to do. Yakko was tugging at her hand and trying to get her to move, but she didn't want to. Something about this guy was almost… familiar.

"Cassie," Yakko whispered. "This guy's crazy, let's just move on." But she didn't.

"Cassie?" the man said. "Is that what you said?" Yakko didn't answer, but he tugged harder. Wakko and Dot backed away slowly.

"What's your last name?" the man asked. "Please, tell me. I'm begging you."

"Bennett," she whispered.

The man's eyes got wider. "It's you."

_Okay, even I have my limits. _Cassie decided this was too weird. She gave in to Yakko's incessant yanking on her arm and turned to walk away.

"No, wait! Wait, _please!"_ The man's arm shot out from in between the bars and grabbed her other hand. Cassie's heart skipped a beat, and she tried to tug out of his grip but he wouldn't let her go.

"Let go!"

"No, you don't understand!" he pleaded.

"I _understand _you're a lunatic, now let go!" Cassie yanked and tugged. Yakko got a furious look in his eye, and began to step forward.

"No, wait, stop! I'll let go if you'll all listen." He said. "I promise."

Cassie thought for a moment then nodded.

The man let go. "Cassie," he said, blinking back tears, "I'm your father."

**Is your heart racing? 'Cause mine is! ;) review please. Seeya later, and again, so sorry for the long wait.**


	16. Reunion

******Hey guys- I'm back! You probably still hate my guts right now because I went MIA for the past couple months, but trust me; I'm going to keep writing! I'm back for good, I promise! And I only left for a number of reasons, most of them being schoolwork, family stuff. I'm super sorry I left for like EVER and I've been trying to get back on my feet for a while now so I hope this chapter convinces you that I still love you guys and this story!**

**Chapter 15- Reunion**

You could have heard a pin drop. The only noises in the room came from water slowly dripping from places in the ceiling into puddles on the floor, and the man in the jail cell, breathing hard and heavy like he'd been waiting an eternity to tell someone what he'd just said. Cassie could feel the other three exchanging confused glances behind her back, and she wanted to join them, but at the same time, she didn't want to move. She stared and stared at his face, glowing in the light of the torches all around the dark dungeon, as if she could get him to jump up and say "Gotcha!"

But no one said anything. Cassie finally found her voice and croaked, "What?"

"I'm your father. Your dad. I- I've never gotten to see your face since you were five months old." The man blinked hard, like he was flashing back to painful memories. "And you couldn't remember me- you were a baby when you were taken. But I see you now, and you look just like-"

"You're insane! Last time I checked, I ran away from my dad, years ago… and you're definitely not him." Cassie could hear her own blood pounding in her ears, and disembodied whispering voices that were muttering incoherently. She looked around in alarm, but nobody else seemed swayed by anything. Giving her head a shake, she ignored them and resolved to not make a fuss about them- she didn't need anyone thinking she was as crazy like this nutcase in front of her.

"Listen to me… This isn't going to be easy to explain. That guy wasn't your 'real' dad."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, did I miss the memo saying that he was my _fake_ dad?"

The prisoner nodded cautiously. "Well, yes."

Her eyes widened. "Okay, I don't know if you're messing with me, or you've lost your mind from the lack of social interaction, but we're leaving." Cassie started down the stony, torch lit hallway, not knowing where it would lead, but just being satisfied that she could get far away from this weirdo.

Yakko let out a relieved sigh, as if to say _finally_, began to follow her, wherever she was going. Wakko and Dot were prepared to follow suit, but the man in the cell blurted, "Wait! If he _was_ your dad, what happened to your mother?"

This made Cassie stop in her tracks, causing Yakko to bump into her. "Hey!" he said. "What's wrong?" His voice came right over her voice, but it seemed so distant.

"What did he tell you about her?" The man continued. "Did you even have a mother?" What surprised Cassie was that his tone wasn't mocking or disrespectful, though his words seemed like it. He sounded more like he already knew her answer.

Cassie slowly turned to look back at him, ignoring Yakko and his sibling's confused looks. "He said… She died."

"Is that all?" the man pushed further, satisfaction glinting in his eyes, no doubt from the fact that he had gotten Cassie's attention.

"Yes." Cassie wasn't even talking anymore- it came out as a whisper, like her voice had completely died, which matched the feeling in her heart. She knew it was totally cliché and dramatic, but she had never had time to even care, much less wonder why she had the loss of a mother in her life. All she had heard was that she was dead and Cassie would never get to know her. And considering the situation she was in, Cassie had known to not be stupid enough to ask anymore, because her old dad- guy- whatever he was- would've smacked her silly.

"And you don't know anything else about her?" the man continued.

"No, my 'dad' didn't tell me anything else about her. And I suppose you could?" She snapped back with false strength.

Unswayed by her bold recovery, he replied, "As a matter of fact, I could tell you lots of stuff about her."

Cassie remained silent, like Yakko, Wakko, and Dot had been for the past few minutes. They were watching both of them, totally confused, but intrigued.

"She was a doctor in Acme Falls. She was always talking about books, she loved them. She married a young soldier and lived in a small house for a couple years."

Cassie felt her forehead beginning to sweat. _This isn't my mom he's talking about. He's just some crazy loon and he's making this up. We should leave._

"She looked exactly like you."

_He's insane, he's crazy, he's wrong-_

He looked right into Cassie's eyes, drilling into her soul. "And she loved you more than anything else in the world."

Cassie finally gave in. "Who are you?"

He ran a hand through his dark hair. "It's a long story…"

"We've got time." Cassie shrugged.

Yakko put up a finger. "Um, actually-"

"Shh!" Dot elbowed him in the ribs. She and the other two Warners settled down next to Cassie, all sensing a story coming along. Cassie didn't believe him at all, and had just assumed he was off his rocker- but why did his face look familiar… "Who did you say you were again?" Dot urged.

" I didn't yet- I'm Trace Bennett- I used to serve in the 15th regiment back in Acme Falls, when they were almost about to attack Ticktockia before it could even try to take over. But then I-"

Yakko interrupted him this time. "Hey, I remember your name- I saw it filed in some old papers we took out of some desk back at the castle because we were bored- and one of them was about you, and it said that you were stationed in Ticktockia but then you suddenly went MIA for the past fourteen years so you were determined dead. So… how are you here?"

Trace sighed. "I was getting to that. I used to live in Acme Falls- I was in the army, and we realized that Ticktockia was planning attacks, so later I was transferred over to the other side as a double agent- to gain the other side's trust, report their plans, things like that. I was there for years, and before I knew it, I was right under the Queen- she would have trusted me with her life. I was so wrapped up in my job, I almost didn't notice- I was falling in love."

"With Griselda?" Wakko exclaimed incredulously, eyes widening. The rest of them looked at each other, their expressions saying, _well, that was unexpected._

"No!" Trace shook his head in disgust. "With… with Olivia. I met her in Acme Falls, way back before I'd been transferred- and I didn't realize how much I was in love until I was in Ticktockia. I would go back and forth occasionally, to deliver information, but mostly to visit her. I never got to do it very often- but I would tell Griselda all sorts of excuses- it went on for years, until we got married, until I sensed Griselda was getting suspicious. And I couldn't have risked losing her trust, so I stopped visiting. It broke my heart that I didn't get to see Olivia anymore- so we wrote. We wrote each other so many letters over those couple months, we both got blisters all over our hands. We had more than one double agent stationed where I was, so I knew our letters weren't being checked. It was all fine until…"

There was a tiny silence. Trace wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, starting to breathe slowly. "One day I got a letter from her- it was the longest one I'd ever gotten. Olivia… told me she was pregnant."

Yakko, Wakko, Dot and Trace all looked in Cassie's direction and she felt her heart skip a beat. She wiped across her forehead, too. Why was it so hot in here? And why was she able to feel everyone's eyes burning into her skull?

Trace continued. "She said that she had found out a month and a half ago, but didn't tell me because she was afraid of what I would say- and I didn't know what to think. I was scared- and worried. How was she going to raise a baby by herself? Without a father? I couldn't leave Ticktockia. But I couldn't stay either, and let Olivia do it alone. So I wrote back, saying I would come when the baby was ready to be born, and we would figure out what to do from there- and that was the last letter I sent her. The other double agent who'd been the one keeping the letters safe, making sure they were sent, had been found out and killed. It wasn't safe to write anymore. Besides, everybody in Ticktockia had become paranoid since the discovery of a traitor in their midst- I had to be more careful than ever.

"So when I had counted all the days, and I knew it was time, I put my cover at risk- I told Griselda another phony excuse for my absence and then sped off towards Acme Falls. The trip took three days, and I knew I was already late, but I kept going until I finally reached the town. I asked around for any news about her, and people told me she'd gone into labor hours ago. I tried to get to the hospital as fast as I could-"

Trace stopped suddenly, and got another faraway look in his eye. It was that look that meant something had gone terribly wrong. Cassie knew that look. It was hers. She got it all the time when she knew something horrible had happened- her brow furrowed, her eyes glinted with pain. Trace looked the same.

"And?" Yakko said. "What happened?"

Trace picked it back up, still having that look. It was almost like he wasn't even in the room, but somewhere else. "I... I came to room where she was. I had missed it- the baby was alive, and fine, perfectly healthy. But Olivia…"

He took the longest pause. "She was gone. I was too late. She just... didn't make it."

More silence filled the room, except for the _drip-drip-drip_ of water coming from the ceiling. But this time, a dead weight was dropping through the quiet. Cassie felt like the floor was quicksand, but she didn't want to fight it. Her head was hurting- she noticed it had been hurting ever since they even got close to getting in the dungeon. Blood pounded in her ears, and voices floated around, making it hard to think.

"I'm sorry." Dot said softly, sounding like she really meant it, too.

Trace seemed to not hear her. "I- I was crushed. I was horrified, I was mad at the people at the hospital. I was about to lose it, yelling at the doctors, telling them it was their fault. But then they told me to calm down, and… handed me the baby."

Again, all eyes were on her- Cassie hated being the center of attention. More voices and whispers swirled around, her head pounded, heart picked up speed, making her confused and tired. She wanted sleep.

"I didn't have a choice- I had to take her with me." Trace clutched one of the bars on the cell door he was locked in, staring at her more, but not with the creepy stare he'd had earlier- a warm, caring look. But Cassie couldn't return it. If this story turned out like she thought it would-

"I took her back in secret, taking all the precautions, making sure absolutely no one knew about her. For months, I was so careful, everything was fine." He shook his head, as if shaking off the memories would make them untrue.

"Until Griselda decided she couldn't wait any more. I was her top advisor- and I found out later that she was planning an attack on Acme Falls, my hometown." He swallowed. "I didn't know what to do. I contacted headquarters, and they were ready, but we hugely outnumbered- even when we knew an attack was coming, we wouldn't have beaten them. I tried to persuade Griselda out of it, but she wouldn't back down. I was about give up, until the night she gave me- that." Trace pointed a dirty hand towards the necklace Cassie had been absentmindedly fiddling with, and she dropped it in surprise.

"Wait, I don't get it." Dot said. "Why'd she give it to you? Did she trust you _that_ much?"

"Even the cleverest of all can make stupid decisions." Trace nodded. "Griselda made a horrible mistake that night, giving it to me. She didn't want anything to go wrong- she didn't know that only the wearer could willingly handle the necklace- it was ancient information, it'd been lost for centuries until I had found it out. She was also unaware that the longer the wearer is separated from the jewel, the more the connection between them is broken. She'd been wearing it all her life, though- even for one night her powers wouldn't falter the next day."

The gears in Cassie's head began to turn- she was starting to understand Trace's story, like putting together a puzzle- but that was impossible… He wouldn't have…

"And I knew I couldn't run off with it- you can't just learn how to use something like that in a couple of hours, or even days-" (Cassie wished she could have said to Jared 'I told you so!' right then) "- so even if I had tried to fight off the guards and escape I'd have ended up doing just as much damage to myself. Besides, I had a daughter now. I couldn't take her with me."

"And you didn't, right?" said Cassie angrily. "You didn't take her with you, did you? You left her alone for the rest of her life with some sleaze-"

"No," He shook his head again. "I _sent_ her away with some sleaze."

It all clicked into place.

"How could you?" Cassie exclaimed, shooting up. "_She was_ _your daughter_. I… _I'm_ you daughter! How could you possibly do something like that?" Her voice jumped an octave higher and echoed through the hall of stone, bouncing off the walls.

"I couldn't… It wasn't the best decision- I was younger, crazy- I thought it would help save everyone, if no one could find it!"

"I can't believe you!" She screamed, making all of them jump. "You're saying you just thought, 'Hey, why don't I give up my one and only child with no mother to a guy I barely know and might do who knows what to her just to get some stupid jewel out of the way?'"

"Cassie, calm down-" Dot said in a soothing voice, reached out to grab her hand.

"_No!_" Cassie pulled out of her grasp, not taking her piercing eyes off of Trace. "I don't think you realize what an idiotic choice you made!"

Trace stood up, trying to feebly argue in his defense. "I was trying to save the town, if I hadn't-"

"You were trying to save yourself," Cassie spat. "If you weren't bleeding to death, you could have fought your way out. But, no, give up your _only child._"

There was a flicker of anger in his eyes now. "Just listen to me, you don't understand-"

"No, _you_ don't understand." Cassie clenched her fists, but white hot sparks shot out of them anyway, making everyone jump. Her heart was pumping adrenaline all through her body, her head hurt more than ever, the voices were getting louder- she felt pure anger surging into her hands, and she clenched them in fists to keep from doing something she would regret. "You don't understand how much I went through, how much I suffered. Maybe what you did saved a town, but it made my life _miserable." _She said through clenched teeth.

He ran a hand through his grimy hair again. "I'm sorry it happened- I didn't know what I was signing you up for, but-"

"Obviously." She said, trying to shoot lasers at him with her eyes. "And I don't need your apology- it's not going to help anything."

"But I have to tell you- I had every intention of coming back to you as soon as I got out, but they found out. Griselda knew the necklace was missing, and she automatically imprisoned me. I've been in here for years, trying to escape, to find you- But there's no way out of here-"He eyed the lock on his jail cell door. "That lock hasn't been opened in fourteen years."

_It should stay that way, _Cassie thought. She didn't have any more strength to yell. The jewel was glowing again, her head was turning into lead, more intense voices were still whispering all around her, but she knew if she told anyone she was hearing voices, they'd think she was insane. Maybe she was.

"Didn't you check the ceiling? All the walls, and everything?" Dot asked suddenly.

"Yeah, or that grate?" Wakko pointed, making it obvious he could've used it. Cassie had wanted to forget Yakko, Wakko, and Dot were even here- this was just too much. What was more, it was a distraction; they had a town to rescue, an evil Queen to throw down.

"I told you, there's no way out. I even tried starving myself- though it wasn't very hard, they barely throw in food every now and then- I tried to get thin enough to slip through the bars but it still wouldn't work. I was stuck here, and I still am. Not a day goes by when I don't regret what I did."

Cassie's anger was slowly melting away- in fact, sadness and longing was creeping its way in its place. Tears were threatening- had she really had a mother? And then her mother had just died, right when Cassie had just come into the world? Was it her fault?

"I don't mean to divert the attention away from my explanation… but what are you all doing here? Aren't you three the kings and queen of Acme Falls now?" Trace scanned across all three Warners.

"We actually came here to save Acme Falls too," Yakko nodded. "Griselda's taken over Acme Falls- but this time she's taking other kingdoms too. And you'd think she'd have at least given up by now. She's gotta be like, ninety or something. It's like Betty White on a rampage."

In spite of all her rage, Cassie tried to hide her smile- Yakko was not helping her continue to look menacing to Trace. And he also wasn't helping her not have that new little feeling of being on a rollercoaster in her stomach when he said something funny.

Dot helped her get back on track. "And she knows Cassie has the necklace- so we're kind of trying to go for a sneak attack- type angle. So far all we have is the jewel- I guess the rest of us will be running at her with mallets or something."

Wakko smiled proudly. "I've got that covered!"

Trace nodded. "You must be what she's so afraid of… I've been down here so long, I started to hear things through the walls- I thought I was crazy, but it was actual people talking. These halls are made out of stone, sound carries throughout the whole thing. She's got soldiers stationed _everywhere … _You do know what you're doing, right?"

The four of them glanced at each other. "Ehhh…. We're working on it." Yakko said uncomfortably.

"We'll get to that later, I guess. Now another question; How did you get here? Acme Falls is miles away."

"It was a combination of carriage rides, running, swimming, walking, mountain climbing, zapping magically from place to place." Dot winked at Cassie. She silently thanked Dot for not making her talk. Her headache was killing her.

Wakko nodded. "And we just came from the mine shafts- they had some weird looking bats in there-"

"Wait- for how long?"

"Um... two days. Maybe one and a half."

Shaking his head, Trace said, "Then you've been gone for about… two, three months."

"Say what?"

"Que?"

"Ex- squeeze me?"

Even Cassie blurted, "Huh?"

"Griselda is just too paranoid- Back when she had to necklace, she was too afraid someone would sneak in and attack her. She sealed off all the entrances to the mine shafts and put a spell on it to make time pass much slower, so she could sense they were there before they got out. Then she would trap them in there, make them see things. She can bend the shape of the whole mountain if she wanted to. It's like her own labyrinth."

"So we've been in there for three _months?_" Dot said, the news clearly just as shocking to her as it was to the rest of them.

"It's got to be… February, then." Yakko calculated. "Hey, I'm fourteen! And so are you." He looked at Cassie. "We should have gotten something else other than a crazy death-mine car ride."

Dot rolled her eyes. "Yakko. I'm just excited we made it this far. When we get back to Acme Falls, I'll buy you a cupcake. And I can't promise Wakko won't eat it."

"Guys,' Cassie said, startling herself. "Focus. If we've been gone three months, Griselda could have taken over about double what she has now- we have to get going."

"Where do we start? We don't even know how we're going to do this… We can't just walk up to her and say 'Hey, quit terrorizing our town. Thanks!'" Yakko pointed out.

"I know, but we can't just sit here, we have to do _something-"_ Cassie pressed on.

"And what's your plan?" Trace cut in. Cassie had tried so hard to forget he was there, she'd actually been successful. "Try to take her head-on? She's got so many guards at her beck and call; you'd be dragged away in seconds. Believe me, I know."

Cassie narrowed her eyes, anger starting to seep back in. "My _first_ order of business is to get as far away from you as I can in this stupid castle-"

He interrupted with irritation, as if he was tired of her wanting nothing to do with him. "Cutting me out of your life won't make you save your town any quicker! You don't know what you're up against. I can help you, with anything-"

"What in the _world,_" She said, rolling her eyes as high as they could go, "Makes you think I want your help?"

"The fact that you can't win this fight on your own."

Cassie was annoyed by how much that made sense. _I guess I know where I get my wit from._ More hot fury was pouring over; she was surely going to lose it. She could feel blood pounding harder and harder in her ears.

"I don't care. You left me, and I'm going to do the same thing to you." She gave him a look of withering disgust and turned to walk away.

Yakko stopped her, blocking her path. "Wait, wait, wait, Cassie, just… wait a minute. We _do _need help, actually. He's been around here, he knows what to do. I don't know, maybe he could just…" but he faltered, probably from the look on her face. "We… We can't just leave him." Yakko said in a low voice so Trace couldn't hear.

As much as she wanted to say, _why not? _She couldn't. She was seething mad at him, about what he'd done, how he had the nerve to ask to help them after sending her away for all her life. And one would think that after spending as much time as she did with the man who had really taken care of her, she would have turned bitter and sour towards everyone and everything, like he was. But it was the opposite; ever since she was old enough to even understand some of the things he'd called her, she had made a promise to herself, to never, ever turn out like him. She wanted to believe that he was wrong- she did have a purpose in life.

So amidst all her hatred and fury, she dug down to the deepest part of her heart- where she actually felt a tiny, bite- size, little bit sorry for him.

She stepped forward, passing Yakko, and opened her mouth to say something.

And then, just when she thought her head had been cleared of the impending sense of danger, the aching, the ominous voices, everything collapsed. Her mind suddenly exploded with pain, making her scream, her knees buckle, as she dropped to the floor.

The world and concerned voices around her disappeared; she in a world of swirling gray clouds and sound, everything was whirling around her; She couldn't tell what was up and what was down, if there was any gravity at all, why the voices that had once been soft were now screaming at her. It was a tornado of pain and cold and thunder, but she couldn't concentrate- a cold voice was burning in her head.

_I know who you are. _

It was everywhere, filling every corner of her mind. It was loud, hurting her ears, making her bend over, clutching her head in her hands. Darkness was everywhere, and the cold was overwhelming.

_I know why you are here- And you will never win. _

It hurt so much, she couldn't think about anything but wanting it to stop. Every cold word made her head throb.

_You can't save anyone, especially yourself. I will find you- and you will give me what I want._

Cassie squeezed her eyes shut, clutched her head even harder. The roar of the wind was deafening; but she could hear it screaming her name. She had to get out, she had to make it stop, what was going on-

And then it was over, just as soon as it had begun. The noise stopped, the pain finally ceased. It took a while for her vision and hearing to kick in- but she remembered. She was in the dungeon, and lying on cold stone ground, shaking like crazy. Her vision was slowly beginning to go from blackness to blurry orange torchlight coming from the walls.

Then voices came- but not menacing whispering voices- familiar ones. It hadn't been the deafening wind calling her name- it'd been the people she'd left when she'd completely blacked out. Somebody brushed her hair across her cheek, and someone else was shaking her shoulder.

"Cassie wake _up_!"

"What happened?" Their voices blurred together.

She blinked, and tried to move her head, but she was still shaking. "Sh- she knows," Cassie muttered, but it was too quiet for anyone to hear.

She could hear someone else say something- that was definitely Yakko's voice, which jarred her back to reality.

….

Yakko was panicking- something he always tried not to do, but seemed to happen anyways. Cassie had been fine until she had just screamed and fell down right on top of Wakko, twitching and shaking like she was having a horrible nightmare. Not only had it freaked him out entirely, but it looked like she was being hurt- and that was impossible. Nothing in a dream or anything could actually physically hurt you. Could it?

Of course everybody had freaked out like him, so there was a burst of panic as his brother, sister and the guy in the jail cell tried to figure out what to do. Cassie was just passed out, but not really, like she was dreaming of something terrifying, and she was fighting something that wasn't there. Wakko had really gotten startled, considering she had fallen over on top of him, knocking him over, and making them both tumble to the ground.

"Guys! Help me!" Wakko yelled, trying to get out from under her now limp body.

Dot got there first, rolling her off him, and Wakko sprang up, breathing hard. "What wrong with her?"

"I don't know!" Dot yelled in panic. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Wake her up!" the guy in the cell said. Yakko didn't know what else to do, and he wasn't exactly about to trust what he said just yet, but it seemed like the best idea, so he dropped to his knees and grabbed her shoulders, making her head loll to one side. "Wait…" he said. "What's going on with the necklace?" It was glowing, like it did at the weirdest moments, but this time, brighter than ever before. He had to shut his eyes and turn away in order to not get blinded.

"What if we take it off?" He heard Dot suggest. "It looks like it's… causing her to pass out, I don't know!"

Yakko turned back to look, but he didn't even have to do anything else- Cassie was moving, though slightly.

"Hey, she's okay." Yakko sighed in relief, gently brushing her bangs away from her face, making sure he didn't just imagine her blinking. Wakko and Cassie's dad both crawled closer to see- Dot shook her shoulder a little too violently, telling her to wake up. Yakko could've sworn she murmured something before opening her eyes all the way, but Dot was too loud.

"If you don't get up in five seconds, I'm malleting you!" She threatened. Dot had a very harsh way of handling her concern.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Cassie almost fell back down trying to sit upright, pulling on Yakko's hand for support- he'd forgotten he had grabbed hers a couple seconds ago. It had been almost involuntary, a frantic impulse; but now she was fine, and he still wasn't letting go.

Dot clutched at her heart dramatically. "What _happened?_ You can't just faint and start twitching like that, I was scared to death! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Um… I'm sorry?" Cassie said sarcastically. "Next time I'll take the consequences of your reaction into consideration." She was managing to talk and hold a hand to her head, which must have been hurting from the fall, at the same time.

Wakko scooted over from behind her, straightening his hat out. "Are you okay? And why did you fall on me? I couldn't breathe! No offense, but you need to lay off the-"

"_Sorry again," _She cut across him, gritting her teeth. "I just… Griselda was talking- in my head- said… she said stuff- I couldn't think, and- we've go to… She knows!" She finally got out, sounding like Porky Pig.

"Knows what?" Yakko said.

Cassie struggled to get to her feet, bring Yakko up with her, their hands still clasped. She broke out of his hand, looking frantic. "She knows we're here! In Ticktockia! I heard her voice, she was talking to me. We have to go, she could be here any minute-"

Trace, or whatever his name was, stood up, along with Wakko and Dot who scrambled to their feet as well. "She won't be coming- she never gets her hands dirty if she can help it. There'll most likely be guards here any second." Sure enough, noises like footsteps were coming from above, making dust fall, water stop dripping. They could hear what were unmistakably muffled voices, all coming from above.

Cassie seemed to remember her dad (it must've been weird for her to even think of him as her dad now) was there too; she fixed him with a look that was a mixture of hatred and surprise and confusion, like she hated his guts, but was debating whether to ask for his assistance. Yakko's eyes flickered between them, looking to see which one of them would say something first.

"Where do we go?" She asked tersely. Yakko remembered that they were pressed for time; he gave his siblings a look that he knew they both would understand: _Get ready to run._

Trace pointed to their left, down a dark hallway that seemed to never end, where the torches and jail cells ran on and on. "Go down there, and keep going until you reach the dead end- one of the stone tiles has a certain mark on it- step on it, it'll open a passageway. Go through, make sure you aren't seen- and get to the library, somehow. Find the book about the jewel, it'll tell you everything you need to know-" He was cut off by a slamming noise- like someone had either blown a stone wall apart or ripped a door off its hinges, or both. It came from way down in the other direction, far away, but it didn't sound like whatever was coming for them would take too long to get there.

The five of them froze in terror- but not for long. Trace reached through the bars, grabbing Cassie's shoulder, getting her attention, and reminding them that they were in a rush. "Cassie, let me out."

She took a step back in suspicion. "Why?"

Yakko's muscles tensed up, not thinking he would have to, but ready to do anything in case anyone made a sudden movement. He couldn't help it- the overprotectiveness he'd always harbored for his siblings just spread to anyone else he cared about- and they were already in an intense situation as it was.

"Please. All I'm going to do is hold them off while you run, I swear." There was no sign of a lie on his face. In fact his deep brown eyes looked kind and… regretful.

Cassie blinked her response, now having no expression at all. "Stand back," she said, but not even giving them time to move as she squinted in concentration, raising her arm, and blasted the lock off in a flash of white sparks.

The rusty lock was now hanging, broken, from the barred door, smoke trailing off, making Yakko's eyes water. He had to hand it to her- Cassie looked calm and quiet most of the time, but she could really explode into a raging inferno when something got her going, whether it was her rollercoaster mood, or using her powers. It was downright scary.

"Come on," Trace motioned hurriedly for them down the hall, pushing the creaking barred door open, stepping out for the first time in years. But he didn't stop to savor it- there was no time.

There were more shouts and footsteps- coming closer- they were so far off Yakko couldn't even see them yet, but he knew it wasn't long until they caught up with them.

"Go, now!" He motioned for them to run. "I'll hold them off, it'll give you time."

Shaking her head, Cassie seemed to push aside her anger for him completely. "Wait, let me help you. I don't know much, but I know enough about fighting, and you can't do it by yourself." She had a point. The guy was so thin, and looked so weak, he probably wouldn't last a minute alone in a fight.

He shook his head. "No," he said. "I already gave you up once; I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you again. I'm not giving you a choice; _run."_

The decision was made- with one last look, they immediately turned and bolted as the shouts and footsteps got louder and louder. Yakko had never run so fast in his life- his legs slowly began to feel like lead, and he started to lose control.

Before he hit the ground, stumbling, an arm shot out and caught his hand, helping him regain his balance, while still managing to continue running at a steady but tiringly fast pace. He turned to look who had stopped him from falling, to see his brother's gloved hand clutching his.

Wakko blinked at him, not having time to say anything, hoisting Yakko up by the hand so he could run again without falling. Yakko made a note to thank him later, but there was no time. Yakko knew they had to go at least five times faster than they were now if they were going to make it without the army behind them catching up.

Yakko couldn't believe the past half hour- Of all things to happen, this random guy turned up, and claimed he was Cassie's _dad?_ It was too weird. Yakko had to admit his story was straight- but he couldn't imagine someone doing that to their kid. It was just out of the question; if anything, Bennett should have _died_ rather than send away his daughter with someone he barely knew. He could have figured out how to destroy the necklace, run away, _anything_ but do what he'd done. It wasn't fair to Cassie at all; Yakko felt an uncomfortable stab of guilt for yelling at her when they'd first fallen in the cave.

And then, of course it had to get weirder- Cassie had a panic attack all of a sudden and scared the crud out of him; and then woke up, yelling that Griselda knew they had entered the castle. And now they were on the run _again?_ It was getting so annoying that they had to keep running away from everything. But Yakko knew it the best thing to do for them- he had Wakko and Dot to look after. And although they could really pack a punch when he got on their nerves, he would never forgive himself if they got hurt trying to fight someone ten times their size. Plus Cassie wasn't totally in control of her powers, and anything she tried to could go wrong and cause serious damage to everyone else within a ten foot radius.

So here they were, running again. Yakko could see the end of the hallway coming up, and he felt a flicker of hope in his chest, but when he looked over his shoulder, and saw the raging crowd of soldiers coming after them, that little flame was quickly extinguished.

He whipped his head back around, ordering himself to focus. The torches on the walls and dark jail cells sped past them in a blur as the raced down the hall. Yakko's legs were quickly tiring, burning for oxygen, as he tore down the hall at breakneck speed with Cassie and his sibs.

Yakko felt an idea spark in his mind- he plunged a hand into his pockets, searched around for a minute, and pulled out three sticks of dynamite, and while he still had Wakko's gaze, tossed them over to him. Wakko seemed to get the concept and pulled a match from under his hat, slowing down to ignite the wicks, which caught and started to flare. Wakko set the sticks down precisely on the floor, and shared a wicked grin with Yakko before breaking back into a mad dash after Dot and Cassie, straining to catch up.

"That ought to at least detain them for a minute," Yakko said between gasping for air.

"Well, for now we need to find that tile on the floor!" Dot wheezed, making an effort to not fall behind; she was going as fast as her tiny frame would allow. But like all of them, she was running out of steam.

"He said it was at the dead end!" Wakko shouted. Everyone turned to look straight ahead- and there it was, as if the mention of it had summoned the stone wall out of nowhere. Yakko could have sworn they had been farther away from it- but that didn't matter.

Yakko, Cassie, and Dot skidded to a rough stop at the wall, but Wakko, seeming to forget the laws of inertia, all but slammed into it, his force sending him backwards onto the floor

"Are you okay?" Yakko helped him up, while Dot turned her snort of laughter into a dramatic cough. Cassie turned to help Wakko too, but at the same time eyeing the approaching legion of shouting soldiers about a hundred cells down.

Yakko glanced up too. "Hey, we need to find that tile- they're coming!"

"No we don't- look!" said Dot, pointing at a creaking stone door that was opening before their eyes. "Looks like you fell on the tile Wakko- you're a genius!" She cried happily; then she frowned at the realization that she had complimented her brother.

Wakko was rubbing the back of his head, wincing. "Yeah, I… meant to do that?"

Yakko didn't waste time. "Come on- we're about to be dead meat, literally. Get inside before they get any closer!" He said, ushering the other three inside.

With one more look at the dim hallway, he crawled in last, and felt the door shut behind him, sending dust and cobwebs flying. It smelled the place hadn't been disturbed for centuries, and the air, if you could say there was any, was stale and musty. There was practically no light, except for some creeping in from the bottom of the door behind them. The ceiling was so low that Yakko, Cassie and even Wakko had to stoop a little, and the walls were only a couple of feet away from each other; they had to be in a small tunnel. Judging by the way that every sound they made echoed down a long way, though, Yakko assumed they were facing another long hallway.

"Hang on- I'll light another match," came Wakko's voice, loud and clear, though he suddenly broke into a coughing fit, no doubt from inhaling dust. Yakko finally saw a tiny flame spark and flare, flickering, and shedding a golden glow throughout the dark tunnel.

Just then, Yakko's ears perked up at a dull _boom_ that came from the other side of the wall. A satisfied smirk spread across his face, along with Wakko.

"I bet that'll teach them to chase us," Wakko grinned.

Dot rolled her eyes. "Nice idea, Indiana. But I think they're still coming, so we should keep moving in case they know how to open that door, too." She started straightening out her skirt and dusting herself off. "Only question is- where does it lead?" Dot's last word echoed three times down the dark hall.

"Guess we'll find out," Yakko shrugged. Wakko transferred the light on his match to yet another torch he'd grabbed from his bag, illuminating the dark tunnel a bit better. Glancing back at them with a weary look that contrasted with his goofy tongue sticking out, he started off into the dark, Dot, Yakko, and finally Cassie following behind him.

Yakko's mind wandered, like it always did when he was bored. Actually, he wasn't bored- he just didn't feel like this was an appropriate time to start a conversation. Besides, from what Yakko could see out the corner of his eye, despite the dull flickering light, Cassie looked ready to collapse from exhaustion. Not only that, but he could assume from the whole finding her real dad business and the fainting spell that she was pretty shaken up and wanted to be alone.

So Yakko trudged on, shoulder to shoulder with her, down the dim and silent hall, knowing for a fact that the tiny beads of water slowly spilling down Cassie's cheeks were definitely not raindrops.

**Before I end this- I want to say thanks to all you guys for not giving up on me. Again, I'm really sorry for the wait. Hopefully the next chapter will be coming along in a couple weeks. Adios!**


	17. The Weakness Within

**Hey ya'll! I don't really have time to type a big A/N (I'm tying this last) so all I'm going to say is that I'm really sorry it's been so long, thanks for sticking with me, and I'll try to update sooner! Sorry if you find a big chronological flaw with this chapter, it's **_**very**_** disorganized. Thanks so much!**

**Chapter 16- The Weakness Within**

Yakko narrowed his eyes, scanning the wall in front of him. "It's got to be here somewhere…" he muttered.

His voice echoed slightly in the dim tunnel. Dot, Wakko, and Cassie were standing behind him, waiting for him to find a handle on the "door" they had finally come to; it was probably just a dead end, and Yakko didn't want to even start thinking of another plan to find their way out of the passageway if it was.

"I can't find a handle or a doorknob or anything," he said without looking over his shoulder. "I think we need to turn around."

Dot crossed her arms and stuck out a hip. "No way! I didn't walk all this way for nothing. There _has _to be a way to get it open."

Yakko crossed his arms this time. "Then be my guest, sis. But if you think you can just-" She walked past him and stared the wall up and down. Pressing an ear to it, she listened for noises on the other side. She drew back, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Hmm…"

Wakko, who had been sitting on a rock behind them all, rolled his eyes. "If you would just let me use my mallet…"

"And have the whole tunnel cave in? Splendid idea." Yakko said, leaning against the wall. He glanced at Cassie, who had sat the farthest away from them all, her back against the dark wall, legs drawn almost all the way up to her chest. She caught him looking at her and looked down.

Yakko's inner soft side gave in; he took his place and slid down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah…" She said, looking down, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Just, you know… got a dad." Sighing, she brushed under her eyes with her hands. "Didn't see that coming."

Yakko nodded slightly. "Yep. Me neither. I was always hoping that if you met some long-lost relative along the way, it'd be a hot cousin or something." She gave him a deadpan stare, and then smiled a little, while rolling her eyes. He grinned too.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Ace." She scoffed. Then she sighed again. "I just can't believe it… I never knew why I ended up with this diamond until now, and now I'm wishing it never existed." She held the necklace up to her eyes, scrutinizing it, its lavender glow illuminating their faces. "I wish I could just go home again." A moment of silence passed between them, and they listened to Wakko and Dot arguing about how to get the door open in the background.

"You ever wonder what it's like to have a normal life?" Yakko suddenly asked without thinking. Cassie turned and looked at him with a look on her face that he couldn't read.

After a few seconds, she answered, "Sometimes. I mean, now we're both a lot more fortunate than we were…"

"But to have a normal family? Parents, and not live in a castle, or an orphanage, but a house? You never think about that stuff?" He asked.

Cassie looked down, thinking. "Well, I don't know about a house. I've already lived at the bookstore, and that felt normal to me. But... parents? I never really thought about it, no."

Yakko looked at her. "What are you thinking about it now?"

She took a few seconds to answer. "I don't know." She finally said. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. It feels so weird, to suddenly have someone spring into your life and say that they were a big part of it." She slowly met his eyes. "What do _you_ think I should do?"

"I think you should talk to him. I know I would want to."

Cassie shook her head. "Too late for that." She gazed into the black nothingness that was the rest of the passageway that they had walked through. "I hope he's okay, though." Her words echoed down the empty space.

"We'll go back for him later," Yakko said reassuringly. "Pinkie swear." He held out his pinkie finger, slightly smiling. She cocked an eyebrow, but linked her finger with his for a brief moment.

"I should've known about this, though. When I was little I'd get nightmares that someone was holding me, and we were running form people who were chasing us. And that guy I was stuck with, my other "dad"- it was weird between us. Like, he'd never talk to me, and he never talked about my mom either.

"And why _me? _I always thought, after Jared told me what the diamond was, that… you know, it was meant for me. But this was never supposed to happen. It was just a mistake, I'm not cut out for this." Cassie almost sounded angry, and for a second, Yakko saw the light of the diamond flare before dying down again.

"Cassie, listen," Yakko said, shifting his position so that he was facing her better. "You can be impulsive, and annoying, and impossible to argue with sometimes. And yeah, you can even be a bit of a know-it-all." He said.

Cassie looked sort of confused and irritated. "Gee, thanks. You know, you're pretty gifted in the art of consolation."

"I wasn't finished yet! You can be like that… and I know I can too." He added the last part to get her attention, which worked. "But what you're even better at being is a leader. You're braver than I am, and you handle stuff way better than I've seen anyone else do. We wouldn't even _be_ here if it weren't for you, admit it."

Cassie averted her eyes, and stared at the ground, be Yakko could see he'd gotten to her.

"You've been wearing that same necklace for your whole life, and nobody else has a better connection with it than you do. So quit second-guessing yourself. I think if you can win an argument against me, you can do pretty much anything," he finished, feeling satisfied when she smiled again.

"Thank you," she said, capturing his gaze with her green eyes. Yakko felt his heart pick up speed, and he shifted his position again nervously. _Why does my face feel warm? If I'm blushing, I'm gonna kill myself…_

"You're welcome," he finally got out, trying to find something else in the small space they were in to focus on. He spied Dot throwing all her weight- which wasn't much at all- against the dead-end wall in frustration.

"Ugh! It just won't open! I give up!" She cried angrily. She plopped on the floor and stretched out. "I'm done with this stupid castle already. How're we even going to get out of here alive if we don't know where to go?"

Wakko stood up and stretched as well. "Good point."

Cassie stood up and dusted herself off. "Let me give that door a try. This necklace has to be good for something, right?"

The Warners gathered behind her and watched as she ran her hands up the sides of the wall, top to bottom. Her face contorted with confusion. "There really isn't anything…" She brushed the top of the door, which was covered in cobwebs. "No… wait, there _is_ something. It feels like an indentation!"

Wakko looked up at Yakko. "How come you didn't find that? You're taller than she is!" He whispered.

"Hey, leave me alone! She has… acute senses." He murmured. Dot elbowed them both.

Cassie tugged her necklace off her neck and held it aloft. "I wonder what would happen if…" She pressed the jewel into a diamond-shaped slot, and the wall immediately began to slide sideways, letting soft light pour through.

"Yes!" Dot gave the air a victory punch.

"Finally," Wakko sighed. Cassie waited for the door to finish sliding, and then tugged the diamond out of its notch. "What do ya know," she muttered, staring at it with a look that was almost appreciative.

"Come on, let's go already," Dot urged, running past them, and stepping out into the library.

Yakko stepped out with the rest of them, taking in the extensive library. It looked like no one had used it in years- books were sort of scarce- in fact, all there really was were empty, old shelves with a few scattered books that looked like little spiderweb amusement parks.

Cassie stepped out last, blinking as she tried to adjust her eyes to the new light. "I guess this explains the Ticktockia popular IQ." She said, making Dot laugh.

Yakko spoke up. "Okay, we need to find that book. Should we split up?"

"Sure," Dot agreed. "But let's use the buddy system." She took Cassie's hand and skipped off down an aisle of bookshelves, Cassie giving them one last exasperated look.

….

Cassie succumbed to Dot's yanking and followed her down dusty old rows of shelves that had so few books it was almost saddening to her.

Dot walked ahead of her, while Cassie stayed behind and opened a random book. She tried to not shriek when a couple spiders came crawling out from under it, but she jumped and dropped it on the floor.

Dot glanced back at her. "What happened?"

"Uh, nothing. Let's just try to look at the covers instead, though." She nudged the fallen book away with her foot, and continued looking. Dot balanced three thick books on top of each other, and stood on top of them, and took place next to her, helping her check books.

"So how are you doing?" Dot asked. Cassie smiled to herself. God bless the Warners for being so similar.

"I'll be fine, but thanks." She grinned. She pulled open a particularly large book with a lot of effort. "At least, I will be when we get out of here. I miss Acme Falls."

"Me too," Dot sighed. "I'm losing my sanity, being away from a decent shower for so long."

Slamming the book shut, Cassie reached for another one. "Have you found anything yet?"

"No… I think this book's in another language." Dot said irritably, slamming it shut as well. "It's going to take forever to find it. What if it's not even here?"

Cassie shrugged. "I don't know. Trace- My dad said it would tell us everything we needed to know on how to use the diamond. I know I could _definitely _use some of that information."

Dot scoffed. "Come on. I know you can totally do this! You're the most butt-kickenist chick I know. And I mean, yeah, you don't completely know how to control your powers, but-"

"Hey, there're some books at the top up there." Cassie observed. Not that she didn't like the praise, but sometimes Dot had a couple flaws when it came to reassuring.

Dot dropped what she was saying and studied the top shelf. "You think we should try to get up there?"

"I'll give you a boost," Cassie said, lacing her fingers together. Dot eventually made it up to her shoulders and started handing down books.

"Eww! It's so gross up here," Dot complained. Cassie snorted. She listened around for Yakko and Wakko's voices, which she could barely hear. How big was this library? There was barely anything in here anyway.

Cassie soon felt herself getting dizzy, but it wasn't for Dot's added weight. _Oh no._

"Dot-" Cassie tried. She already heard Griselda's voice whispering in her head. "What?" Was all she heard before Griselda took over entirely.

But it wasn't like before-She could barely see or feel anything, except for hearing a hissing voice that almost sounded like a snake. _You're only minutes away from being found. _ It echoed through her brain like her head was as vast as the mine shaft.

_You're planning to overthrow me? I would take heart that you didn't get your hopes up… You're in the belly of the beast now. Now it will be mere child's play to apprehend you and your comrades._

Her heart flipped over. She'd never thought about what would happen to the Warners if they got captured…she didn't even know what she'd do if _she_ got captured. She decided that no matter what, she wouldn't let that happen, period.

_Ah… you're afraid for them? When the guards finally catch up to you, I suggest you let them go without a fight... I promise I'll give them a much, shorter, sweeter end than I normally would. _

Cassie collected her strength and concentrated on breaking away from the trance Griselda had her in. She needed to get the Warners out of Griselda's way as soon as she could. The queen's voice got worse.

_I can't see where you are, but I promise you, when I-_

Cassie ripped away completely, stumbling back, and Dot nearly toppling off her neck. Cassie caught her at the last second, and slid her off, breathing hard. _I can't believe I actually broke free for once._

Dot straightened herself out, staring at her. "Griselda?" she said.

"Yeah," Cassie nodded. "We need to find your brothers."

Dot motioned left with her head. "I think they're this way." They started running.

Dot shook her head. "No, wait, that way!" She pointed in the opposite direction. Cassie turned around.

"Wait, maybe they're-"

"Dot!" Cassie yelled. Suddenly they both heard Wakko's voice coming from the other side of the library. "Guys, I found it!"

….

Yakko peered over Wakko's shoulder, examining the old pages. It looked like no one had opened the book since centuries ago. He looked up when Dot and Cassie came running from around a corner.

"Guys," Cassie said. "We need to-"

"Look! It's the book, it has everything in it! It looks really, _really_ old though," Wakko said, turning a dusty page. Dot came over by his side and took a look.

"Wow," she said. "Looks pretty elaborate. You can find out anything in here."

"Yakko, come here," Cassie said in a low voice. She was standing by an indoor pillar, away from the other three, with her right hand in her pocket. Yakko walked over to her. "What is it?"

Casting a backward glance at Wakko and Dot, Cassie took his hand and pulled him towards her so that they were standing behind the pillar, out of the younger two's sight.

"I think I know what we need to do," she finally said. She looked weird, almost sick. "We're right in the heart of the castle; we can't even walk five feet down the halls without running into some soldiers." She cast another nervous look around.

Yakko frowned. "Yeah, but isn't that why we have to hurry and do this now? I mean, if we wait-"

"But that's just it. Whether we wait or we hurry, we're eventually going to have to face Griselda- and look at us. Wakko and Dot- I don't want them to get into this as much as you do. And they can't go anywhere without you, they need you." She paused to look at his siblings again, then back to him. There was fear in her eyes. "This whole time, you guys have nearly been killed a bunch of times because of me, and-"

"And who was the one who saved us every time?" Yakko said reassuringly. "I would have died if Jared had had the chance to kill me back at the resistance- maybe we all would have. And when I was drowning. _And_ when I got cut-"

Cassie protested, "But most of that was just by accident, or a lucky shot! And if it hadn't been for me, you all wouldn't have been that close to death so many times to begin with. If it hadn't been for me, Acme Falls would still be safe, and everyone would be better off."

Yakko put a hand on her arm, and said seriously, "Don't blame yourself for all that- it wasn't your fault in the first place. Griselda would have taken over anyway, and you know it." She looked away in silence.

"Plus, I'm pretty sure those guards have a personal problem with me and my sibs from the _last_ time we were in Ticktockia. I think Dot actually bit one of them once," he said, making them both snort.

But the laughter in Cassie's eyes vanished all too quickly. "I'd still never forgive myself if anything happened to you. We're in way over our heads on this one, and there are so many things we should have done, but didn't..." She crossed her arms, gazing off in to the distance, past the black, cloudy mountains, to where there was a tiny sliver of green land visible. "We shouldn't have even come here."

Yakko had run out of things to say. He wondered if she was really serious. "But...we've gotten this far, haven't we? If we've stayed alive for this long, well... I mean, there's nothing we can't do."

Cassie fearfully shook her head. "No, Yakko. You didn't hear her- Griselda, when she was in my head. She said there was no one I could save, no where we can hide. We can run, but eventually, she's going to catch up to us, and when she does..." She squeezed her eyes shut, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "I don't want you guys to get caught up in this. It's my fight-"

Yakko didn't like where this was going. "Cassie, don't say that, it's our fight too, she took over Acme Falls-"

"And Tauntwood, and everything else in Warnerstock. The resistance tried to fight back, and look at what she did. They were an entire army, and she wiped them out like she didn't even try. She's _dangerous_, Yakko. I don't want you three getting hurt because I didn't do something about it before it happened.

"Somehow, I was the one who ended up with this jewel- I've been wearing it all my life, but I've never really known why I had it until now. She's only focusing on me, and she'll get rid of anyone who gets in her way. It wouldn't be fair to drag you into it only to get you killed."

Yakko looked down, thinking. Everything she said made sense, but he still didn't know what she was trying to suggest. She looked tired, stressed and worst of all, afraid. It wasn't really like her. Normally, she would have been determined and walked on without worrying. Now she looked like a nervous wreck.

He looked over at Wakko and Dot, who had been trying to figure out what they were talking about, and staring at the two of them. They snapped their attention away, and went back to looking at the book.

Yakko turned back to Cassie. "Then what are you saying?"

Cassie sighed shakily. "I'm saying..."

A deafening noise shattered her response- a gargantuan brass bell that hung in a nearby tower they could see out the ceiling windows had begun to ring a low, deep toll that sent vibrations through Yakko's chest all the way to the floor.

All four of them whipped their heads around in panic, as shouts began to ring out from behind the glass.

"They're here, in the library! Don't let them escape!"

"Not _again_," Wakko groaned.

Without thinking, Yakko had already grabbed Cassie's hand, Wakko and Dot, and they were running back to the trapdoor, dodging and ducking through the maze of bookshelves.

"Yakko, stop!" After a while, Cassie's voice rang out. He skidded to a halt, right at the entrance. They all stopped to catch their breath.

"How did they _know_?!" Dot gasped.

Cassie yanked the silver chain off her neck, the diamond swinging. "This," she said, staring at it with disgust. She promptly stuffed it in her pocket.

Yakko's eyes fell on the door that he now saw was a bookshelf on the outside. _We can hide out there until they pass._

He said to his siblings, "Get the trapdoor open, guys, we'll meet you in a second."

"But Yakko-" Wakko tried.

"Please, go do it now, just give me a minute." His voice was so frantic, it sounded hoarse.

Dot took Wakko's hand and they ran off to the bookshelf while Cassie took Yakko's hand, and pulled him past a bookshelf until they were well out of the other two's sight.

"You three have to leave." She said.

Yakko's heart thudded in his chest, understanding. "No," he said immediately. "Not if you're going to stay here by yourself."

"Yakko," she pleaded, entwining his hands in her shaking ones, "Please, trust me. I heard her. She'll kill you, Wakko, and Dot if you come with me. I don't want to do this as much as you don't want to, but... it's just what we have to do."

Suddenly, Yakko saw her eyes widening. "What?" he said.

She looked down, reaching for her necklace. "I just thought of it," she mumbled, while her fingers fumbled with the chain. She finally unearthed it and held it out to him. "Take it."

Yakko stared at it like he had never seen it before. Its light was pulsing like a heartbeat. "Why?"

"Because she won't expect me to give it to you. It's me she wants, but only because I have it. If it's with you, and you guys can get out of here safely, and it'll be out of her reach, at least for a while. And if you run into anything, you can use it to fight back, and then you can get help-"

Yakko stopped her. "And what happens when they find out you don't have it?" he said.

Cassie shifted uncomfortably, and looked down. "I can manage. Sometimes I can do things without it, I've tried."

Yakko pushed her offering hand with the necklace down, staring into her deep eyes. "You're lying."

Cassie blinked, a tear rolling down her face. She held up the necklace out again. "Take it. Please, Yakko-"

Yakko pushed her away again, and grabbed her shoulders. "Cassie, you know I can't do that! I can't let you go out there by yourself, I-" He stopped suddenly, the words caught in his throat. He didn't want to make the situation more complicated than it was. Besides, what was the point of saying something if she would surely not say it back?

Cassie shakily pressed the diamond and silver chain in his hand, and gently closed his fingers over it. "I promise I'll meet up with you later. We'll figure something out."

"But what if-"

"Shh," she said. "Just trust me."

Yakko looked down, not meeting her eyes. He wanted to protest so badly, but he knew she would never give in. He looked over at his siblings, slowly pushing the passageway door open, and felt his heart split in two. He was conflicted beyond belief, but if he knew one thing, it was that one side of his heart was just a bit bigger than the other. He'd do anything to keep Wakko and Dot safe. As much as he hated it, he would have to follow through with Cassie's plan. He just hoped he wouldn't break down or anything. Seeing Cassie cry was like someone repeatedly yanking at his heart strings.

Suddenly, he felt her slowly slipping her arms around his neck, and pulling him closer. He turned his head, and saw that Cassie was leaning towards him, tear tracks on her face glistening in the torchlight. Standing on tiptoe, she closed her eyes and softly pressed her lips to his.

Yakko tilted backwards a little, stunned, but his eyes slowly closed as well, and the two of them gripped each other closer, pulling together as they kissed. Yakko forgot everything- that they were in danger, in a hurry, in a castle, in Ticktockia. For a moment, they were back at the lake by the waterfall.

It was an entirely new sensation that was completely unfamiliar, but in a good way, holding this girl against him, and brushing his lips against hers. He had kissed girls before, but not like this. It wasn't like anything he'd ever felt in his life, and it had him spellbound. He felt her hands caressing the fur on the back of his head, sending shivers down his spine.

Yakko got the surreal sensation that his chest was filling up with something light and bubbly- he felt as if he was going to float away- but at the same time, slowly sink down. Their lips separated for a moment, and then touched again. He could feel that his heart was pounding, even though his body felt numb. He felt Cassie inhale softly, and he slowly slid his hands up from her waist into her golden hair.

She suddenly pulled away, sliding out of his grasp, and looked around the corner. Yakko almost stumbled back, dazed. Cassie whipped her head around back to him, her expression grim. "Do you hear that?"

Yakko's ears pricked up at the approaching noise- running footsteps. Cassie gestured to the trapdoor, whispering, "Go."

"Wait-"

"Go!" She thrusted him into the room, and then took off running around the corner.

Yakko didn't waste any time waiting around, and sprinted to the open passageway. His siblings were already inside, getting a torch ready.

Yakko leapt inside and slammed the door shut, startling Wakko and making him send matches flying.

"Hurry," he muttered, ushering them through the dark hall. "Wait, where's Cassie?" Dot asked, turning her head around. Yakko almost stumbled and tripped. His head was spinning, and his legs felt numb.

"Not coming," he said tersely. "Hurry,

"We need to go faster!" He pushed them forward harder. He tried to keep his hands from trembling. He was using everything in his willpower to keep from thinking about why there were only three of them rushing down the tunnel instead of four.

"But, wait-" Wakko protested, digging his feet into the ground. Dot did the same thing.

"Guys, we don't have time for this! Just move!" Yakko yelled, his voice cracking, forcing them forward one more time. He felt he had lost all of his senses, especially touch. The torch that Wakko was gripping was an amber blaze in front of his eyes. But through the blood pounding in his ears, he could already hear noises on the other side of the wall.

_"Wait!"_ Dot cried angrily, glancing at his clenched fist on her shoulder. "What is that?" Yakko suddenly slowed to a stop, staring at his hand, which had purple streaks of light shining through the cracks of his fingers. The only sound in the tunnel was the sibling's heavy breathing.

He admitted defeat. Gradually, he lifted his fingers to reveal the pulsing diamond sitting in his palm.

...

Cassie tore down the hallway, through the huge labyrinth, around corners, wiping hot tears away from her face. She finally found two huge double doors and tugged one open with a great deal of effort. She was out, dodging suits of rusty armor, flying through the hallway, but almost instantly fell to her knees, gasping in pain.

Her head had begun to pound like it had in the dungeon; slowly and without mercy. She hadn't taken the necklace off in days, and not even for this long. It really had been sustaining her energy like Jared had told her, protecting her from things that hurt; now the pain began to creep back in, and a wave of nausea fell over her. She was left with nothing. The farther away from her it got, the weaker she felt.

An image of her pressed against Yakko flashed across her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut- that had to have been the craziest, stupidest thing she had ever done. She could still feel his hands in her hair, and on her back; it had felt like every bad thing in her life, like living on the streets, and being just some girl he had met only weeks ago had just been a bad dream. There was only him kissing her, her kissing him. For once, she had felt kind of special.

But she couldn't help wondering in horror what he must have thought of her when she had stepped towards him and made that first move. Griselda was right... She was an idiot to think he could love her back. It was just naïve to want someone after you'd never got the chance to want anyone before. He probably felt about only a fraction of what she felt about him. There was no doubt in her mind that if they somehow managed to miraculously make it back to Acme Falls alive, he'd forget her in a week.

_Or maybe I'm wrong_, she thought. _What if he really is a person who would be good for me?_ When she had kissed him, he hadn't reacted at first, until he had kissed her back. She couldn't ignore how he had held her, so close to him, and almost lifting her up.

_But still... How could I think I could just do that to him, right out of the blue?_ If he wasn't utterly disgusted with her by now, she was. The only reason she had done it was because a vision of her never seeing him again had flashed across her mind. It had been selfish, and pathetic, but at least she wouldn't have run off, wondering what would have happened.

Cassie could hear footsteps. She immediately seized a handful of the rug and pulled herself upright, groaning in pain. Looking around, a noticed a suit of armor that looked big enough for her to crawl behind, so that she could hide in the darkness of the corner, and wait for the guards to pass.

Huddling in the dark corner behind the rusty- smelling suit, she began to feel stupid. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea._ It was too late anyway.

The footsteps were now right behind her. Cringing silently, she sank into her spot, and scooted back even farther into the dark. If they found her, she was dead.

She watched about fifteen guards pass, not one of them without a gun. They looked around, but didn't see her, and passed around a corner.

She waited for what seemed like an hour, holding her breath, and not daring to make a sound. The footsteps began to fade away as they rounded another corner.

When she was sure they were out of earshot, she exhaled in relief. Pulling herself up, she got out from under the suit of armor, and stood in the hallway again, her head pounding_. Now I need to find another place to hide...preferably a long-term one._

Before she could do anything, Cassie heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind her head. "Don't move."

She froze in horror. _No. I thought they all passed. How many are there behind me?_ She began to turn around.

"I said don't move!" A deep voice commanded. "Put your hands on your head and turn around, _slowly_."

Cassie did as she was told, feeling like an escaped convict. _I can't believe I was stupid enough to get caught already._

There was a single guard behind her, holding his slightly trembling gun up, pointing it at her. He was a bit larger than the average person, Cassie couldn't help but notice. _Maybe I could have taken him if I still had the necklace. Doesn't matter now. Why does he look scared of me?_

"N-now take out that... That thing, that jewel you have with you,"

_I can't let him know I don't have it._ "Why? If I give it to you is Griselda going to promote you or something?"

He looked confused. "What?"

_Ah, he's as smart as he is appealing._ "You know, how you would go from General I-need-a-date, to Admiral I-need-a-diet," she said, smirking.

After a few seconds, he understood her. He raised his gun a little, moving towards her, and said angrily, "Just hand it over, and maybe I'll consider sparing your life." His fear seemed to have melted away.

She rolled her eyes. "Could you also consider sparing your breath? Unless you have some mouthwash on you." She dropped her hands off her head.

The guard grabbed her without warning, and thrust her against the wall, pressing the barrel of his gun into the side of her forehead. Cassie's stomach seemed to flip over. "Look, I'm just doing my job here. But there's no one around, is there?" he said, glancing down both sides of the hallway. "All it would take is one little pull of the trigger." he purposefully twitched his finger that was on the trigger, and Cassie flinched.

"No one would know," he sneered. "Of course, it would sort of become a big deal, afterwards. Word is, you've got a pretty big price on your head. But I've been given orders to retrieve something and I intend to get it. Only problem is, I can't kill you while it's still in your possession, or it'll lose its power, and die out forever. So I'm gonna ask you one more time," he snarled, the barrel of the gun digging deeper into Cassie's pounding skull. "Give it to me, and you can go free."

Cassie blinked, staring down the hallway, her only escape route. She glanced back up at the filthy guard in front of her. "Right, you're just going to let me go frolicking off home? How do I know you won't kill me after I give it to you?" She tried so hard to keep fear from entering her voice. Her legs were shaking, as were her hands. She curled them into fists.

"That's not up to me, is it?" he said, sneering. "It's up to the big boss."

"Oh, now I feel reassured. From what I've gathered in my dreams, she seems like a lovely, life sparing kind of person," Cassie drawled.

"Look, it's a simple choice- give it to me now, and I don't kill you. Or you can take it up with the Queen later. And I speak from experience when I say that you do not want to mess with her."

"You're probably right- it's a lot more fun messing with you anyway," she said, grinning.

The guard's eyes narrowed into slits. "You don't have it," he said. "Do you?"

The grin slid off her face in a snap. Cassie's heart was in her throat_. Oh, God_. She blinked, trying not to give anything away. "What makes you say that?"

"You just look... different." I've seen you before, you know. I was one of those at Acme Falls, and... you don't look the same. And you won't give it to me. If _you _don't have it, then who does?" He asked threateningly, tightening his grip on her arm that he had pressed up against the wall. She tried not to gag at the smell of him.

"I don't know." She finally said. _What do I do_ was running through her brain. It was like she was demanding a result from her brain, but her mind was messed up like an old computer and couldn't come up with an answer. She completely blanked out. _Stupid! Look what you've gotten into now._

"You don't know," the guard repeated skeptically. Cassie's heart was racing, like a jackhammer was pounding through her chest. "Maybe I can't threaten you with this," he said, shifting his gun's position slightly. "Just in case you _do_ have it. But there are other ways of making you talk," he smiled in a nasty, leering way.

Without thinking, Cassie kicked him in the gut, making him stumble and band over, groaning in pain. She took but one fleeting step towards her way out, but he was quicker, grabbing her around the waist. She screamed, struggling and kicking, but it was futile. He was more than twice her size, and held her back with ease.

To Cassie's horror, four or five more guards came running around the corner, rifles in hands, all huge. She struggled more violently but the guard holding her tightened his grip, almost choking her.

"What are you doing, Rivers?" one of the guards asked the one holding her.

Rivers promptly threw her against the wall. Cassie felt her head smash against it, and she crumpled to the floor, seeing stars. Her head pounded worse than even before, and she winced, clutching her head. She felt horribly weak and helpless. _How could I have been so stupid?_ she thought.

"Little rat was trying to make a break for it," Rivers was telling the others. "She doesn't have the diamond."

"Then where is it?" she heard someone else ask. "We need to find it or Griselda will have our heads." Cassie felt a bruise forming from where her head had hit the wall.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Rivers spat. He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her so that she was standing upright, making her cry out in pain. She barely opened her watering eyes. "Listen, just tell us where it is, and no one gets hurt."

"Don't you think it's a little late for that?" she muttered, a bit too loudly. Someone, she didn't see who, slapped her across the face, making her stumble over to the right. The entire side of her face stung with pain. Cassie almost blacked out, seeing more stars.

"Answer me when I ask you a question," Rivers snarled. "All you have to do is say the word and you're free."

As much as her brain commanded her to not do it, she had more smart comments up her sleeve. To her, talking her way into or out of something was better than doing nothing. She knew at this point that she couldn't fight back. Her only hope was to keep them from finding out.

"Is this how you treat women? I have to say, it's not surprising that you're still single, if that's the ca-" She had been slapped again. Her head slammed into the corner of the wall, hard. She winced in pain again, her hair covering her face. She would've fallen over if Rivers hadn't been holding her against the wall again in a vice- like grip. _Shut up, shut up! Stop talking!_

One of the other guards spoke up. "Rivers, it's no use, just bring her to Griselda, she'll make her talk easier."

Cassie's eyes opened just millimeters more to see Rivers' face contort with anger. "Fine," he spat, taking care to toss her out of his way. She hit the wall and slumped to the floor, torn between being relieved and more terrified. Cassie had no idea how Griselda would try to make her talk. But at least she had bought the Warners more time to escape. Maybe they could even get help from someone and come back. But who knew how long that might take. She just prayed Griselda would not draw the information from her before it was too late.

Cassie felt someone kick her, making her gasp in pain. "Get up," they said tersely. Cassie tried, her arms shaking, but she just fell back upon the floor. Every drop of her energy had been entirely drained.

Darkness began to creep in from the corners of her limited vision, and the sounds and threatening voices around her began to blend together and fade. Before she knew it, the world around her got blurry, then dark, and Cassie lost all consciousness, sinking into a wonderful deep sleep.

...

Yakko kicked the dungeon trapdoor open, peeking out to see if anyone was there. It was empty.

"C'mon, the coast is clear," he said to his siblings.

They were feet behind him, struggling to keep up. Yakko had taken advantage of his speed and size long ago, putting a bit of distance between him and then do that he could pretend to not hear their questions. He knew what they would ask. Without thinking, he had shown them the necklace, back when they had first started down the tunnel; when he had finally come to his senses, he'd stuffed it into his pocket and continued to run, trying to avoid questions from his siblings.

Wakko made it up to him first. "Yakko-" he tried.

"Let's go," he said. It had been about the millionth time he had interrupted him, along with Dot, whenever they had tried to ask him something.

Yakko pushed the heavy door open farther and held it open for them. Dot finally caught up with them, ambling along, while keeping a hand on the wall for balance. She already looked tired. "Yakko," she breathed, "why won't you talk to us? Where's Cassie?"

Yakko sighed, finally giving up. His bones ached from running for so long. Not just for the past day, but the past month. He was tired of running. All he wanted was to go back to the first day he had walked into that bookstore, when everything had been normal.

Yakko faced his brother and sister, not wanting to tell then anything. He wished he hadn't taken them with him. They were too young for any of this kind of stuff. "She's... Not coming with us. She gave me the necklace and told me to run. I- I didn't want her to, but she wanted to lead the guards away from us so we could escape." Wakko's face was twisted in sad confusion. Dot looked like he'd just started speaking a different language.

"But... why? Why did she do that?" Dot asked, tears forming in her eyes.

Yakko almost couldn't look at her about to cry without feeling like he would throw up. "Guys, she was only protecting us. It was that or Griselda kills us."

Wakko looked sick. "Where did she go?"

Yakko shook his head. "I don't know. But we're going to meet up with her later. Sometime. Eventually, I promise." He tried to inject confidence in his tone, but his sibs looked anything but reassured.

Dot suddenly looked angry. "But how could she do that? Is she stupid? She's gonna get herself killed!" She looked like she wanted to break something.

Her voice rang out through the empty hall, echoing the word 'killed'. Then Dot fell down to the floor, letting tears freely fall down off of her cheeks, sinking into her fur. Yakko dropped down too, but to make sure that she was okay. She pushed his hands away.

"How could you let her go?" she said, looking up at him with betrayed eyes.

Yakko could not look at her or Wakko anymore. "She didn't give me a choice," he said. His voice was now low and barely articulate. "But I didn't want to."

There was silence as the three of them sat there, not meeting each other's eyes. Then Dot began dusting herself off, and wiping tears away. "Then we shouldn't just stand here and let that all have been for nothing." She stood up, Yakko, standing with her.

"Let's get out of here and get some help," Dot said. "I guess Cassie was right... It is too dangerous here."

Wakko nodded and straightened out his hat. "Right, and we need to avoid running into trouble."

"Because if we die, I'm going to kill you." Dot grinned up at Yakko, who grinned back. It didn't look like a very genuine smile, amidst her tear-stricken face, but he knew she was trying to be brave.

"So where do we need to go?" Wakko asked his brother. Yakko's eyes traveled down the hallway. _We need to find somewhere we can hide._

"Let's make it to the outside of the castle and see what we can do from there," He said with a little determination. He began to reassure himself silently as he began making his way down the dungeon hallway with his siblings by his side.

_We can do this,_ he thought. _We'll get out of here, we'll get help, and get Cassie back. Wherever she is..._

He fiddled with the warm diamond that was deep in his pocket. It almost felt like it was a little heartbeat in his fingers. Something stirred in his memory about Cassie asking why he didn't feel pain when he touched it...

Before he could do anything, Yakko stumbled, his hands involuntarily shooting out in front of him. He fell to the dusty floor, his vision going blurry and then dark. He felt like he had taken a mallet to the head; head spinning, his senses drifted out of the dungeon, faintly hearing his brother and sister's voices floating around him. But before he felt like he would've lost sensibility, his vision began to clear; although he wasn't where he had been. He could see a different place, this one even darker than the one before...

...

There was barely any light in the room, save for weak moonlight streaming in through the skylights in the roof. Griselda gracefully descended the small staircase that preceded her dark throne, and made her way to the shivering girl that lay in the corner.

There was an almost eerie way that the queen moved, like she almost effortlessly glided over any surface, like she barely touched the ground. The only sound in the room was the small sobs and whimpers coming from Cassie, who was curled in the fetal position on the icy floor.

"Please," she whispered pleadingly. "Please stop." Griselda had been slowly eating away at her mind with the cold, bitter power that she possessed. In a way, she was draining what little energy Cassie still clung onto, but in a slow, painful way, that made it seem as if there was thunder inside her head, blood repeatedly pounding in her ears.

Cassie had awoken from her deep slumber in a dungeon cell, but not the same kind as where her father had been locked in. This cell was darker, smelled worse, and if possible, was smaller. There was a single barred window near the ceiling, out of her reach, which let moonlight peek through in bright rectangles, signaling that it was nighttime. She had been almost entirely alone, except for a few other prisoners who looked like their last meal had been weeks ago. They hadn't spoken to her, nor she them.

Finally, after an hour or so, someone had unlocked her door and shoved her down a hallway, up some stairs, and then finally into the room she was in now. That was when Griselda had begun to torture her.

Now, Cassie shivered and twitched, her hand clutching her head in a futile attempt to make the pain cease. Her eyes were shut tight, sweat beading on her forehead. "Please," she said again, louder.

"Why would you have me stop something that is inevitable?" Griselda asked softly. Her voice was calm and cold. "Eventually, you will waste away from lack of energy, as long as I have you here. If anything, I'm putting you out of your misery. It would be better for you to be finished off than to languish while your friends all die before your eyes."

Griselda took a few more steps towards her. "But that's not why I'm feeding off of your mind, now is it?"

Cassie only shivered. The queen's eyes flashed in the moonlight. "I must admit, when they first brought you in here, I was not expecting the news I received. That you no longer possessed the diamond; it was indeed unforeseen." The queen's voice was smooth and flowed like honey, but underneath it, you could hear deadly toxins waiting to poison a victim.

"I still continue to underestimate you, though, Cassidy. Many would say that you're... unpredictable. However, it would seem that you've finally been brought into custody, which eliminates one of my problems."

Griselda knelt down, silently next to Cassie's slightly shaking body. "But be that as it may, you've created another," she whispered menacingly.

Swiftly getting to her feet, the queen turned on her heels, and glided over to a wooden table at the side of the room.

"Fourteen years, you've been a thorn in my side, Bennett. Fourteen years you kept the jewel out of my sight." Griselda's tone was slowly becoming less smooth, and more dangerous. "I didn't even know who you were."

"But when I finally saw you, weeks ago, escaping with those accursed rulers of Acme Falls, I knew. I could finally get inside your mind; I could discover anything about you that I wanted. It's mostly how I've been keeping track of you and your little group for most of this time," she said. Cassie was listening intently- what choice did she have?- and began to feel every horrible mistake, every bad, scarring thing that she had ever made or done come back to her, resurfacing from the depths of her memory. Griselda had a way of controlling what went on inside your head when she set her mind to do it.

"It was how I made sure I could keep you in check. But fate surely knew how to toy with my plans..." she trailed off, clutching the wood edge on the table like she meant to break it off. Griselda's sharpened nails dug into the mahogany, and Cassie gasped when she felt more poison- like pain pulse through her mind.

"Somehow, by sheer luck, or sacrifices from your friends, you managed to slip through my grasp every time," Griselda murmured. "You were a persistent little bunch, I'll give you that. I will admit that I began to worry, until I saw you enter the trapdoor from the castle. After that, my vision began to blur... Why, I know not, but it does not matter. I knew that you would eventually turn your friends around and sacrifice yourself for them. Especially after your father had told you a certain tale of his."

Cassie glanced up, showing interest in Griselda's story for the first time in a while. Maybe the queen would say what had happened to him, if he was alive or not. Knowing whether or not anyone she knew was all right or even alive was admittedly the only thing she was holding on to.

"It was delicious, seeing the way you reacted to his story. I was indeed wondering whether or not I would have to eventually tell the story to you myself, once I got ahold of you. Now I see that it was much better having him be the bearer of the news.

But after a while, I realized that you almost made up with him- well, I couldn't have that. Seeing people at war with each other is much better than at peace, in my opinion. But by then I had decided enough was enough- it was time to let you know that you were officially being hunted."

Cassie looked down again, squeezing her eyes shut in pain again, breathing raggedly. Griselda continued, "And then, later, your refusal to let your friends go any further, due to your fear for their safety, and their protest, _your _protest... It was almost too good to be true. You would be alone, more vulnerable, easier to subdue." She smiled. "Good natured people are the ones who are easiest to break. But after that, I lost sight completely."

Griselda turned to face Cassie, who had been lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. It was too tiring to try to do anything at this point. "Which brings us to where we are now." There was a piercing silence.

"You will eventually tell me where that necklace is," she said, her tone turning nasty. "This is only just a taster. In the end, you may beg for death before you gratefully receive it."

Cassie's head suddenly started throbbing again, and she gasped and winced, biting her tongue and pounding her head with her fists to keep from screaming. She heard Griselda walking towards her and then stop just next to her.

"Look at you," she said, cold laughter in her voice. "All the comforting lies people used to feed you, just out of pity. After all these years, I was expecting someone at least more adequate to wield something with such power and ability." Griselda's words were now hurting just as much as her head did. "It was almost laughable, watching you soak in the dishonesty."

Especially those Warners... Ever since you left with them, you began to hope that you were special. I saw it in your eyes. They only brought you along out of charity, or maybe simply the goodness of their hearts. You were so deceived," she smirked. "You even _love_ one of them."

Cassie's heart received a jolt of guilt and pain. She saw Yakko's face swimming in her mind, felt his arms around her, and let a tear fall onto the black marble floor. She meant nothing to him.

"It's just plain factuality. You're simply a girl who fortuitously got caught up in a situation where she had no means. Without the necklace, you would still be someone who belongs on the streets. Without that diamond, you are _nothing_." She hissed.

Cassie lay silently, taking in every word.

"Still, you have managed to evade me for quite some time, and all because of your friends," Griselda mused. "Well, I certainly won't be making that mistake again. I see now that you merely survive off of sacrificial acts of the people you obviously care nothing about. In any case that you did, you would have perhaps stayed behind and defended them."

But no- instead you flee into the welcoming arms of safety, with no regard to the consequences whatsoever." She said, staring Cassie down, her eyes narrowed to slits. "The surest sign of weakness there is."

"And that's just what you will remain to be until the end," she hissed. "Weak."

Having heard enough, Cassie turned her head slightly to face the queen. She actually spoke up for the first time. Her voice was hoarse.

"Oh, like _you're_ not weak? If you'd had the guts, you would have come and hunted me and my friends down yourself. My own father said it: you're paranoid, you never do anything alone. You hide behind your wall of soldiers and call _me _weak? What do you think _you_ are without that necklace? If you're as powerful as I've heard, you wouldn't be kicking me when I'm down- you'd face me." she broke off, hyperventilating.

Griselda stood, staring down at her with a static, cold expression. What she spoke next was barely audible under her low hiss. "I don't recall asking you your opinion."

And Cassie almost passed out again when her head surged with white hot pain. She could hear her own screams echoing through the dark room as she clutched at her head again, only thinking about wanting it to stop. Griselda stood and watched her writhe around on the floor, almost smiling.

It finally stopped. Everything was silent except for Cassie's sobs and rapid breath.

"As much as you have proven yourself to be foolish this entire time, I know that you are at least not an idiot- I take it you are ready to tell me what I wish to know? Or would you like to see what else I can do?"

Whimpering, Cassie shook on the floor, but didn't say anything. The corners of Griselda's mouth twitched upward. Cassie felt more pulses of pain coursing through her, and it took everything in her power to keep from crying out. She clenched her teeth and felt hot tears staining her cheeks.

"Please, stop!" She yelled. It didn't. "Stop!"

"You know how you can make it stop," Griselda spat. "The only reason I'm wasting my time with this is because my vision is now limited with the jewel so far from me. I can only see so far into your mind..." she trailed off, and for once, a hint of frustration appeared on the queen's face, as she furrowed her brow and stared intently at the girl before her, furiously concentrating.

Cassie's thoughts began to scramble, like someone had reached into her mind as if it were a filing cabinet, and they were shuffling around for something. She saw slivers of memories flash across her mind's eye so fast, they almost blended together. There was her eleven-year-old-self, fishing something out of the trash, her knocking on someone's door, only to have it slammed in her face seconds later, her getting ready for Wakko's birthday, her at a very young age getting yelled at, her and Dot laughing together at the resistance, Yakko talking to her at the bookstore, Wakko pulling her out of a freezing cold lake.

Griselda's face contorted with more frustration, as she dug deeper.

Dot curling Cassie's hair, Cassie yelling at her father in the dungeon, her with Wakko at the castle; suddenly, the images slowed, and crackled, like a TV with a bad signal. Cassie saw flashes of a certain scene- there she was, tears in her eyes, pleading and talking with Yakko, him protesting; and then her heart stopped when she saw herself press the glowing diamond into his gloved hand.

Then she saw things that weren't even from her own memory- Yakko, Wakko, and Dot making their way, down the tunnel. She saw Yakko clutching the necklace tightly.

Cassie snapped her eyes open, sucking in a breath of cold air. Griselda was standing, towering above her, with a mixed look of triumph and shock.

"How could I have not seen it," She whispered, Cassie cringing. _She knows_.

Griselda snapped her attention to her. "Guards," she called, her voice full of cold mirth. Two soldiers entered the room. "Get her out of my sight." She turned and strode to the other end of the room. "And send word to the others- capture the Warners and stop at nothing. They have something that I require."

"No!" Cassie yelled. "Leave them alone! They didn't do anything to you!" She tried to gather her energy and push herself up off the floor, but she found she had none.

Griselda turned for one last look at her, a mirthless smile hinting on her face. "Maybe not... But it would be interesting to see how many screams of yours it would take for them to hand it over."

With that, she turned and left Cassie to be hoisted off the ground and pulled away by guards once more.


	18. Arrival

**Hey, guys- I know I'd be stating the obvious when I'd say that it's been a while. And for those of you wondering why in the world I took so long, anyone who writes fanfiction will know that it's a combination of a bunch of stuff that doesn't exactly work to my advantage. And you should also know that I really do care about my readers and this story, and I'm truly sorry it took this long. I love still getting your guys' reviews even though I've stopped for a while; you have no idea how much strength and encouragement they give me. So thanks to all that have stood by me even though I've been disappearing like crazy. But aside from that, now you get to read this chapter, so please enjoy it!**

**Chapter 17- Arrival**

Dot grumbled under her breath. She had managed to stub her toe, bruise her ankle and mess up her hair all by the undergoing process walking through this stupid never-ending dungeon hall. If Yakko didn't look so tense, she would have complained by now.

He had passed out for four entire minutes back when they had entered through the trapdoor. Dot felt her stomach squirm inside her when she recalled how hysterical she'd been; she and Wakko had tried their best to get their brother to wake up, but nothing had worked. The only thing that had helped her stay the least bit calm was Wakko, telling her that it would be alright, and how he had not fallen apart like she had, and managed to stay by her side and soothe her in the midst of something horrible would always remain a mystery to her.

When Yakko had finally woken up, he hadn't said a word about why he'd all of a sudden lost consciousness, and he sure didn't look like he was going to budge now. All he'd said was that they needed to hurry even more, or risk getting caught, and that the place would be crawling with guards looking for them, and began to stride off with his back to them in some kind of post-fainting reverie.

Dot and Wakko had only shared a look of confusion and worry before following him down the corridor.

Now, it had been about forty minutes since they'd set off. Apparently, the dungeon had several floors and the halls were impossibly long and hollow and empty. To Dot, they looked worse than they had when she had first seen them. The walls were still damp, with puddles of muck on the floor, but the torches had been lit, giving off a warm glow. Now most of them were put out, and there was a chill in the air.

Yakko trudged on in front of them, not having turned back to face them since his fainting spell. Dot had been worried about what he had seen while he was out for a while, but now she was starting to get annoyed with him. He'd dragged them off and told them Cassie had left, which had pretty much left her dead inside, then passed out, practically giving her heart failure, and was now giving them the cold shoulder.

Crossing her arms, Dot huffed audibly. It wasn't _like_ Yakko to be quiet. She'd rather him be babbling hopelessly about whatever was on his mind like he usually did.

"Yakko," Dot said tentatively. "Um… are you sure you know where we're going?"

"No." She could barely hear his answer.

Dot frowned. "Uh huh. We've been walking for about… forty-odd minutes and we haven't really gotten anywhere, so…" Yakko kept on walking, not looking back. Wakko elbowed her in the ribs, shaking his head, clearly warning her not to press on. Dot rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"I just want to make sure you know what you're doing." Dot waited. "You know what you're doing, right?"

Nothing.

Dot gritted her teeth. She had been worried sick about him for the past hour, and all she got was this? Her brother had some explaining to do, and if persuasion was what he needed, then darn it, she was giving it to him. Snatching the burning torch out of Wakko's hand, she stepped forwards, past her oldest brother, and planted herself square in front of him, looking him straight in the eye. Yakko stopped abruptly, and Wakko came to a stop behind him. Both looked at her like she was crazy.

"_That's it._" She growled. "Seeing how you haven't been very talkative of late, I thought I'd give you a chance to fess up, because me and Wakko have been waiting for you to spill _long enough_, and as our brother I think it's your responsibility to at _least _fill us in on what's been bugging you!"

Dot breathed heavily, gripping the wooden torch to channel all of the sudden energy that was coursing through her body at the moment. Wakko gulped and tugged at his red cap to where it slightly covered his eyes, but Dot could see he was glancing at Yakko to see what he would do. Her eyes flicked back Yakko's face, and she opened her mouth to say something else, but she stopped herself.

She was only just now realizing that she hadn't seen how her brother had looked before yelling at him, and now she was wishing more than ever that she hadn't. Yakko looked more dejected than she'd ever seen him; his eyes looked heavy and the flickering light made him look older and tired. She was almost sure her was going to pass out again, right then and there.

"Yakko…" she stammered. "I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't worry about it." He muttered, taking a shaky step forward. His arm stuck out blindly for the wall. "I just-"

Dot stepped forward, along with Wakko. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Do you need to-"

"It's fine, I just need to sit down for a second." He slid down the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples. Wakko caught Dot's eye, and she saw that he looked about as scared as she felt. The two of them settled down on either side of Yakko, waiting for him to say something.

Yakko sighed. There was silence in the barren corridor except for the slow drip of water trickling from the ceiling. "I'm sorry, guys."

Dot could only stare at him, and couldn't look away, the gears in her head whirring. She suddenly realized that he looked exactly the same as he had every day they'd spent living in the water tower. Biting her lip, she looked down into her clasped hands which were resting in her lap.

"Why?" Dot heard Wakko's voice coming from Yakko's left. "We were so close, why didn't you just let us keep going back there?"

"Because we were _too_ close." Yakko said. "And I hate myself for just now realizing how dumb it was to bring you guys into this."

Dot looked up. "It wasn't dumb, you're just beating yourself up over something that didn't even happen."

Yakko looked at her. "That's what you two don't get, Dot. It's _going_ to happen if I don't do something about it. If anything happened to you guys, I'd never, ever forgive myself… I just have to get you guys out of here, out of all of this, where you can't get hurt."

Dot frowned again, dropping her gaze. She knew he was right, because he was _always _right, and she hated that sometimes. "Well then, what are we going to do about Cassie? What if something happens to her, are you going to forgive yourself then?"

Yakko looked down for what seemed like ages. Dot wished there were torches burning so she could have seen his expression more clearly. "I told you, we'll go back for her later." He finally said.

"But what if-" Wakko tried.

"No what ifs." Yakko cut across him. "We are getting out of here, and you guys are going to find somewhere safe where you can hide until this is over. In fact, we shouldn't be wasting our time right now, we should go-" He began to push himself up off of the floor, but Dot pulled him back down.

"Hold on, we can't just leave! If we go right now, we'll have no chance of getting her back in time, and you know it." Dot put on her best pleading face, one that was sincere and guaranteed to tip the scales in her favor. "Please, Yakko. We have to go back. What if she's in trouble?"

Yakko looked like he was going to reply, but instead just shifted around on the floor and stared at the wall in silence. Dot narrowed her eyes.

"What did you see when you passed out, Yakko?"

Her brother's eyes flickered downwards, and Dot saw something in him that she easily recognized; inner conflict. He was at war with himself for some reason, and she could see it in his eyes. She had seen it every day at the orphanage and when they had been basically living on nothing; whether or not to let her and Wakko eat what little food they had so they could carry on for the rest of the day, or to let himself eat so he would have the strength to take care of them. It had always made Dot feel horrible and helpless, and she remembered wishing that there had been some way she could have helped him.

But now she knew that things were much more complicated. And she wanted to know what he wasn't telling them.

"I… I saw-"

"Yakko! Wakko! Dot!" A high-pitched, boyish voice suddenly rang out through the stone halls of the dungeon. The three Warners jumped and turned their heads in the direction of the yell, and Dot's heart sped up about three times its normal pace, the beat hammering in her chest. They all stood up, scrutinizing the darkness.

Then a blur of chestnut brown came hurling itself straight at her, and collided with her upon impact, the person crushing her in a fierce hug. Dot gasped and then squeaked as the air left her lungs in a rush. She wrestled backwards to see her attacker, but then her face broke out into a huge smile when she recognized him. "Skippy!" she cried.

"Skippy?" he brothers said in unison, looked extremely disconcerted. Dot hugged him back, trying to somehow return all of the missed time they had undergone in the past couple of months. As she squeezed him, she heard another voice, as well as a collection of several footsteps along with it.

"Well, if it isn't the Warner brothers and sister," Rosetta smiled, holding her gun casually up on her shoulder. "Long time, no see."

Dot's eyes widened in shock, and she didn't even have to look to know that her brothers were probably doing the same thing. "Rosetta?" They said at once.

"In the flesh." She grinned again. Rosetta looked like someone had dragged her through a shrub backwards. Her entire body was dirty, as well as her clothes, which consisted of the same ones she had been wearing when the resistance had been under siege, except now they were torn and muddy, and she was wearing a baggy black backpack that hung loosely to her right side. There was sweat beading on her forehead, her combat boots were caked in dirt, her black hair was a curly mess, and she had a strip of cloth wrapped tightly around her arm, where it looked like she'd been scratched, but otherwise, she looked overjoyed to see them. "Whoa, you guys look like you've been through an ordeal. What happened to you?"

"What happened to _you_?" Dot threw back, still staring, unbelieving. Skippy hung by her side, slightly grinning at the exchange. "We thought you were dead!" Yakko and Wakko nodded in their shocked agreement.

Rosetta halfheartedly shrugged. "Right back at you. You guys just disappeared off the face of the earth for months, we thought all hope was lost, and then suddenly, boom, we hear you penetrated Ticktockia's castle on skill alone; I have to admit, I never thought you guys had it in you."

Dot blinked, still staring; her attention was now drawn to the bunches of people who were standing behind Rosetta, all teenagers, all armed, all looking half alive. Most of them looked like they were starved, but they all seemed to have a collective glint of determination in their eyes. Dot even recognized some of them from the old resistance HQ; they had all survived.

"Most of us had found the secret passageways in the facility when they attacked," Rosetta continued. "Some of us were pulled out of the rubble and the remains, having been overlooked by the guards and all. We hid out in the basement and storage areas for a while until the Ticks left and called the attack a complete success, thinking the majority of us had been terminated. Well, they were right, I guess. I mean, this is all that's left." Rosetta gestured to the group behind her. "We're the only survivors."

"How did you get here?" Yakko asked.

Rosetta wiped the sweat off the back of her neck with her free hand. "Mountain pass. Cuts straight through the crags that surround the fortress. It's tricky to get through, but easier than trekking over all those rocks."

"Well, that would have been nice to know about." Yakko muttered, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Wait- what about Jared?" Dot asked, almost immediately knowing it had been the wrong thing to say. Rosetta's face fell, her dark eyes dropping down to the floor, studying the dusty stone.

"We don't know. Never found him." She said. Wakko suddenly became interested in his gloves, and began inspecting them. Dot dropped her eyes, wishing she hadn't brought up a reminder that the guy who had betrayed them all had been, in fact, this girl's brother. Everybody settled down in a hushed silence, averting their eyes.

Rosetta spoke up again. "This is all wasting time; where have _you_ guys been? Nobody had seen anything of you for so many weeks; everyone thought you were dead for sure."

"Ehhh, we kind of took a detour." Yakko replied.

Rosetta craned her neck and stood on tiptoes to look past them. "And where's Queen Crabby herself? I thought she was with you guys."

"She _was_," Wakko said dejectedly.

"What do you mean?"

Yakko shook his head. "We'll tell you- look, this can wait, right? I take it we're in a hurry?"

"Well, not really, but you're right, time is of the essence, especially now." Rosetta set her gun down on the floor, and turned to what was left of her clan. "Okay, guys, take five, we're going to be heading out once we've figured out exactly what's next. Just reload your weapons, hydrate, and be ready for orders when they come. Got it?"

The crowd murmured a response, and began to mill around, people intermingling and talking. Skippy started to make his way over to join them, but Dot grabbed his arm. "Wait, Skip- you still haven't told me how you even got here!"

"I'll tell you later, I have to go catch up with someone, okay? Do your thing and talk, I'll be right back." Skippy sprinted back through the crowd, ducking by bunches of people and disappearing into the mob. Dot scowled. _Trust a boy to be that explanative. _

Rosetta turned back to Dot and her brothers, and bent over, hands on her knees. "Okay, fill me in."

Yakko immediately began. "Okay, we got here through the mine shaft, and we met this guy who turned out to be Cassie's dad-"

"What?" Rosetta's eyes got big.

"Later," he promised. "The guards started chasing us and we got away through a trapdoor in the wall, and it took us a couple hours to get through the tunnel and get the door open. Then we were in the library, and we were found again, but before we could run, Cassie gave me the necklace and told us to go back through the trapdoor and get out while we still could-"

"_What?"_ Rosetta said again, looking stupefied as ever. "Why?"

Yakko shook his head. "I don't know, she… she didn't want Griselda to find us." Dot felt the tension swell up in her throat; she wished more than ever that she had been there to stop Cassie from doing it, but she had to wonder, would it have made a difference? The girl was stubborn as a mule, no wonder Yakko had complied.

Everyone waited for Yakko to continue, but he had stopped. Swallowing, he breathed deeply. "Um… and then…" He faltered, something that usually never happened. Everyone waited with bated breath.

"Yes?" Rosetta urged.

Blinking, Yakko looked up again. "And then I took it, and we've made it here so far."

"And she's still in there?"

Yakko nodded. "Yes, and Griselda already has her. They're trying to use her to get the necklace back."

"_What?!"_ All three of them jumped in shock, and several people looked over to see what the commotion was about.

Dot immediately began to screech at him. "_That's _what you saw in your dream? You didn't think that was important enough to tell us first?!"

Yakko grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside. "Dot, be quiet, we'll get caught here if you don't stop yelling!"

Dot stamped her foot, making Wakko and Rosetta jump. "Yakko Warner, I want you to tell me why you decided that it was a good idea to keep this information to yourself before I do something illegal!"

"Because I knew you'd react like this!" Yakko said.

"Both of you shut up, you're going to cause a cave –in." Rosetta leaned in. "Yakko, are you serious?"

He nodded, looking nervous. "Dead serious. She's in one of the main dungeons, it's near the center of the castle; we'll never be able to get there alone in time."

"Then you're in luck." Rosetta stood straight and faced what was left of the resistance again. "Hey guys! Attention!" She whistled, loud and clear. The crowd stopped chatting or handling their guns, and all eyes went to their leader. Silence fell in the dungeon again.

"You guys ready for an ice cold plate of revenge?" A roaring, rousing cheer was the answer. Dot watched all the teenagers pumping their fists in the air and yelling, and would have been comforted in the fact that they now had help, if it weren't for the cold worry that gnawed at the bottom of her stomach. She stood back and pressed herself to the wall as the crowd began to file down the hallway.

Turning to Yakko, Rosetta asked hurriedly, "Where's the trapdoor?"

"There's a dead end at the hall, you step on one of the tiles on the floor to make it open- the door at the other end is unlocked."

Rosetta turned to the biggest guy at the head of the group and repeated the information. After she finished she stayed behind while the others made their way past them, yelling orders: "Stay on the path and in the main rooms, always reload, and make sure you stay away from the center of the castle! Always keep an eye out for Griselda herself, although I'm sure she'd never be stupid enough to show her coward face out there. Still, be on the lookout!"

While the teens continued to march, Wakko grabbed Yakko's arm and pulled him into a little niche on the wall, while Dot followed closely. "How could you not tell us about this?" he asked.

"Sibs, I'm sorry, but I just-" He stopped again, faltering. Dot was starting to believe that there was something genuinely wrong with her brother.

"If you care about Cassie at all, you'll go help her, and let us come with you." Wakko said, Dot nodding fervently.

"_I do, _but you guys are-"

"Could you just forget about us for one second, and go save your freaking girlfriend?" Dot said, rolling her eyes. "You're making this too hard."

Rosetta came to meet them again, teens still filing down the corridors behind her. "Y'know, I think she's right, Warner. The time is now; if we wait any longer Griselda's going to find us."

"Alright, I just need to get them out of here first." Yakko gestured towards Dot and Wakko. "They're too young for this, I need them to be safe." Dot bit back her retort with difficulty. She knew how crazy her brother was about keeping them out of harm's way, but the last thing she wanted to do was watch helplessly from the sidelines.

"Actually, I think we might have something." Rosetta grinned slightly and turned around to face the other side of the hallway. "Hey, slowpokes, hurry up!"

Dot stepped out to see what other new surprise she was supposed to handle now. She saw Skippy, but now he was surrounded by a newly arrived crowd; and she almost couldn't believe her eyes.

It was Scratchensniff. It was Hello Nurse. It was Slappy and Rita and Runt and the Goodfeathers and Pinky, Brain, Ralph, Buttons, Mindy, the Hippos, Plotz, and _Minerva Mink?_

"Okay, you've _got_ to be kidding me now." Dot said, closing her eyes and trying to decide whether or not she was awake. "How the heck did you _all_ get here?"

Rosetta rested her gun back on her shoulder with her good arm. "Does it matter? Right now we've got to hurry before we're found. In fact, I don't think we should stay here very long." Dot suddenly seemed to notice how most of the newly arrived crowd that she knew so well looked just as dirty and exhausted as the resistance had, maybe worse. Her stomach squirmed again nervously; she didn't want to say anything and put a damper on everyone's spirits, but if this was the best they had, they were doomed.

Rosetta checked her watch. "Okay, Acme Falls, move out, and show them everything you've got, because honestly, we could use all the help we can get now."

"Say no more," Slappy said, straightening out her hat, which had a patch of it missing. "I'll give 'em hell for what they did to our town! Looks like the ruins of an ancient civilization now; lot of good that's gonna do 'em."

"That's the spirit," Rosetta encouraged. The rest of the group began to silently move out. Dot, her brothers and Rosetta moved out of the way, all of them so serious that Yakko didn't even stare at Minerva and her deliberate saunter down the hall. Dot shook her head to herself; the things that constituted a behavior change.

Rosetta motioned to one of the group, beckoning one forward. "Okay, Scratchensniff, I need you over here."

Dot saw the old doctor's bald head turn in a snap, and he almost looked relieved to have an excuse not to fight with the others. "What do you need me for?" He asked, wringing his hands together.

"We sort of need you to take the younger two and high-tail it out of the castle before this battle gets critical. Yakko needs-"

Dot and Wakko started protesting immediately. "What?! An _escort_?"

Yakko started to put a hand up. "Dot, just listen to me for once, okay?"

Dot crossed her arms. "You're seriously deranged if you think I'm going to-" But she was cut off by Yakko's expression- he looked dazed again, dizzy. He grabbed the wall for support suddenly, and Wakko did his best to keep him upright, although he barely came up to his shoulder.

"What's happening? What's going on?" Rosetta asked, looking serious, along with Scratchensniff, who was wringing his hands again. Dot ignored them, and faced Yakko, who was closing his eyes and put a hand up to his head. She could see a purple light pulsing from inside his pocket, and everyone's eyes were drawn there at once.

"Yakko, just try to stay awake, okay?" She said, doing her best to keep the shakiness out of her voice. Why did she always have to lose her cool in these situations? "You hear me?"

"It's not that," he muttered. Everyone waited, Dot suddenly able to feel all of their heartbeats moving as one. They were fast and deep, like drums.

Yakko's eyes snapped open. "It's Cassie."

Rosetta blinked. "How do you know?"

"I can feel it! We have to go, _now._" He looked frantic; Dot wasn't really sure she had ever seen him like this before, and it scared her. Wakko looked equally as petrified, and Dot could see his knees slightly trembling.

Rosetta nodded, and she strapped on her backpack with force. "Then let's move."

**Hope you enjoyed it! This is mainly just a filler chapter, so sorry it's sort of short. And again, if you're mad at me for being late, I'm really, truly sorry. I know I've been lazy and crazy with the chapters, but please don't lose faith in me- I'm just going through a really busy time right now, and the next chapters will come- I just don't know when. I've been working pretty fervently on this, and it's now 3 AM that I'm finishing at, so you can tell I'm dedicated; I gave up sleep. Y'all better feel special. Okay, also, one more thing- please, please PLEASE review! I love hearing your guy's reactions, so don't forget! Thanks guys, you rock- stay classy ;D**


	19. Jailbreak

**Hey, guys- this chapter is pretty much as late as they come, but it's finished now, so at least you guys can read something before you rage about how late it was- and I don't blame you for doing so. Seriously, I know how you feel. My life just went through a huge change, so I've kind of been dealing with that instead of writing- but it's finally done, so yay! Please review if you like it. Okay, enjoy!**

**Chapter 18- Jailbreak**

Cassie's eyes burned.

Maybe it was from the endless minutes of crying she'd endured, or probably the fact that she had been staring up at the full moon that could be seen from the barred window above her cell for a length of time without blinking, or most likely the bitterly freezing winds that blew in and stung her body.

The temperature was already dangerously low, and all she had to wear was a thin t shirt, shorts, and ratty sneakers. Her eyes had been burning with died salt from her tears, fatigue, and the frigid air that constantly whipped at them. Whatever the reason, she decided that she couldn't keep them open any longer, and slid them shut, causing them to burn even more.

She lay in the position she had been thrown in for an inordinate amount of time before, on her side, her face making contact with the icy stone underneath her, her bare, skinny legs tangled together. None of the prisoners in the dungeon were protected from the seasonal winter winds, and were all forced to endure the unbearably low temperature. They were all huddled in the corner of their own cells, shivering, and pulling whatever stray clothing they owned tightly around themselves to avoid freezing.

But Cassie stayed where she was and didn't move. She had decided that the cold would be her punishment for having failed so miserably, having let her friends down, as if causing herself to freeze to death would somehow help the situation. There had been one single purpose in her separating herself from the group, and it had been to help them escape, and survive; she had only made it worse.

Griselda was no doubt watching hundreds of soldiers prepare for battle, suiting up and loading guns, sharpening swords, formulating strategies that were sure to get her friends killed. The Warners were tough, but they were so small compared to the masses that the queen had complete control over. What could they possibly do in defense against forces of that number? They had the diamond, but Cassie knew Yakko had no idea why he was the only one who could wield it besides her, much less how to use it. She didn't have a clue why Yakko was impervious to the jewel's power either, but it was irrelevant right now. What mattered at the moment, the fact that Cassie repeated over and over again in her head was the one thing that she had no control over: _they're going to die, they're going to die, they're going to die._

Cassie cracked open her stinging eyes just enough to glance at the rest of the prisoners, who were huddled in the dark corners of the cells. The fluorescent moonlight made their faces look hollow and sunken, like they were nothing more than shells of the people that they once were. One starved-looking woman caught her eye, and turned away. Two young boys, looking only years apart in age, shivered together and had hunger in their eyes. Cassie wondered how long they had all been here, and remembered her father, skinny, dirty, and desperate. She knew that the dungeons up here were much more high-profile and worse than the ones that were underground. Considering that Trace had altogether betrayed Griselda and nearly cost the queen her life, Cassie could only speculate what these prisoners could have done to deserve the ultimate incarceration.

Shaking, she turned her head to the other side of the jail, rows and rows of cells, moonlight making long rectangles on the floor and walls through the bars. She saw even more desolate faces and hopeless eyes. Some were curled up on the floor like she was, their skin so white, it was tinted blue; they couldn't have still been alive. There was no noise down the hall, save for a few whispers that echoed off the stone walls, so that Cassie could not trace their origin. A movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye; a small girl with scraggly hair and big, brown eye, who was sitting next to what looked like her mother and brother had turned her head to look at her. The girl regarded her with two things- curiosity, and one thing that Cassie returned with her eyes- pity.

Cassie shut her eyes again. She was overwhelmed with another wave of nausea, and she choked, trying not to cry out in pain. More tears threatened, and she gripped her sides, digging her nails into skin in an attempt to not break down sobbing, which seemed very inviting at the moment.

She didn't know when she had ever been in such a state of hopelessness; her body was broken and weak. Her friends were facing imminent death without her, the one person they had needed to protect them. She didn't even know what had happened to the town back home; for all she knew, it was a pile of ashes now, and everyone she had known was a part of it. And after she was killed later, what happened then? With the jewel, Griselda would stop at nothing, and _couldn't_ be stopped as she continued to overtake the rest of Warnerstock. One more tear dripped down her face, leaving an icy trail behind it.

It pained her even more to think about how Griselda had been right on all of her accounts; she was nothing without the jewel. If she hadn't grown with it in the first place, she would be even less than what she was now. Cassie was glad at least that the necklace had been out of Griselda's reach at the time, but she couldn't help wishing that the burden had gone to someone else. Of all people, she was the least qualified for the task of defending the rest of the world from the queen. She was weak, and always had been. And now there was nothing she could do about it except watch as the world fell apart around her.

_No._

Cassie felt a tiny tugging at the back of her head. It was somewhat reminiscent of the way Griselda's voice penetrated her mind, but this time it was from inside of her.

_I'm not what she said I am- I'm not weak._

Cassie blinked, her mind reeling. She felt something stirring inside her- was she really not as weak as she seemed? She had made it here so far, with the Warners by her side, that much was clear. People had covered for her, Griselda had said, they had taken the fall for her; but she had gone her whole life taking the fall for an entire country, living alone, unknowingly bearing the jewel that could either save thousands of lives or destroy them.

_Does that even make sense? If I'm not weak, then what am I?_

Suddenly her vision went black so quickly Cassie thought for a split second she had passed out when she saw jumbled images flash across her mind's eye- flashes of light and too many thoughts to process. Surges of power and jolts of electricity suddenly racked her body, and she gasped. She almost sensed her muscles being shocked with energy, and while painful, it was surreally exhilarating at the same time.

It seemed to end as soon as it had begun, and her vision cleared in another flash of bright light. Cassie couched, gasping for breath, the freezing air chilling her lungs and shocking her back to life. She felt like she had just sat in an electric chair, currents running through her body faster than she could think. Just as her vision was clearing, a violet light instantly blinded her as it shone from her hands, which she had lifted to her face.

Screwing up her eyes, she waited for her eyes to adjust, and slowly cracked them open just in time to see the purple fading back into her skin. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she stared at her body- there appeared to be no change, but she knew there had been one. A new drive was coursing through her bloodstream, and there were too many thoughts flashing through her mind for her to be able to think straight.

_What just happened why do I feel weird why was there light flashing out of my hands I have to do something, something now-_

Cassie threw out a hand blindly to her side, and she hit metal bar- she turned her head to see the iron cylinders that barricaded her from the hallway. Then she felt a burning sensation on her hand; something was definitely burning, but it didn't hurt like it should have- she saw the bar she was grasping burning away in her hand before her eyes, purple light shining from her palm, creating bright imprints all over the walls.

_What?_

She blinked, her mind a huge blank for a split second, and then she immediately sprang to action. She pushed herself up, taking a moment to recover from the massive head rush that momentarily clouded her brain. Her vision clearing, she grabbed two thick, freezing bars in her hands, and concentrated on melting them away; the bars instantly sizzled and smoldered upon impact.

Cassie's eyes widened. _This is working- this is _working-

A new series of thoughts were pouring in all at once, and it took a great deal of self-control to not fall down on her knees under the pressure. Although something had surged through her, giving her more strength, she still felt weak and unstable. Her arms shook as they gripped the bars, and her knees trembled with anticipation. She felt the bars coming loose, and with a rough tug, she ripped them from their places in the door; the pieces, sizzling hot orange and yellow, fell behind her, clanging to the floor, filling the quiet hall with a deafening noise.

Cassie immediately chose two more sections that she grabbed onto, straining to burn them quicker. She glanced at the rest of the prisoners, who she had nearly forgotten about; all eyes of the living were on her, most of them wide with fear or surprise. Ripping the rest of the bars away, Cassie reached out through the open space and steadily burned away the padlock that held her door closed- it came off, sparking against the other metals, and Cassie tossed it aside.

Throwing it aside, she threw her weight against what was left of the door, and it came loose, clanging loudly to the ground. If any of the prisoners who were at the far end of the hall had not lifted their heads to see what had caused the commotion, there was no doubt that they were all watching now. Nobody moved, but their eyes did, the closest to Cassie searching her, taking in her every move.

Wasting no more time, Cassie leapt to the cell across form her with the little girl and her family, and grabbed the padlock on their door, heating it with her hands as fast as she could. The girl stared at her, no changes in her face present- her younger sibling looked up at her as well. Their mother was the only one who didn't move; she gazed off out of the window with empty eyes.

"Listen," Cassie rasped, cringing inwardly at how her voice sounded. "Someone will have heard that- I'll try to get you all out as soon as I can, but I can only do so many doors at a time- do you know if they keep spare keys anywhere?"

The girl wordlessly pointed to the other end of the corridor- a ring of a few keys hung high on a nail on the far wall. Cassie wrenched the sizzling padlock off its hook on the wall, dropped it, and ran to the keys, grabbing them off the nail, and sprinting back to the cell.

"Here," she said, opening the creaking door, and tossing the keys to the girl. "Start unlocking doors, and hurry, those guards could turn up at any moment-"

"What are you?' the girl said, blinking her large eyes. She sat still, holding the keys in her lap. Her voice was soft, and could barely be heard even in the silence of the dungeon. The girl's brother gazed up at her in wonder, his mouth slightly open. They both waited for her to say something, while their mother sat and blankly stared out the door at nothing in particular.

Cassie was at a loss for words, and stood, hands shaking, waiting for an answer to come. Finally she just looked the girl in the eyes and said, "I'm a girl. Just like you."

The girl blinked again, not taking her eyes off of her. Cassie knelt down, ignoring the pieces of grit and sand embedding themselves into her knees, and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "What's your name?"

Another soft whisper. "Mary."

Cassie nodded. "Mary, I'm sorry to ask you this, but I'm gonna need you to start unlocking the doors, help me get the others get out of here, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Mary nodded, and Cassie stood back up, dusting off her knees. "Thank you."

The small girl looked up at her with her brown eyes again. "What's your name?"

Cassie looked down at her. "Uh- Cassie."

Mary nodded and stood, the keys jingling in her hand; without any more words, she went to the adjacent cell and started fitting the key into the lock. Cassie moved to the next cell over, grabbing the padlock and gripping it with the utmost force, concentrating on burning it as fast as possible.

The man and woman inside the cell jumped, and moved back against the wall, clutching each other and eyeing her with fear.

"What are you doing?" the woman breathed, her voice shaking.

Cassie's eyes flicked to the couple for a second. "Breaking you out."

The man stared at the burning lock that was turning red hot before their eyes. "How are you doing that?"

Cassie continued focusing on burning- she could feel the metal loosening beneath her skin. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't know either."

The lock broke off in her hands, and she dropped it, moving to the next cell, nudging the last door she'd unlocked open with her foot as she went. She chose to ignore the couple's stunned expressions, and left them behind her; there wasn't any time she could afford to waste right now. The guards could burst in at any minute, and she didn't know if she had the strength for a fight even against one of them. They could knock her out in a half second, and possibly kill her later; and she had just now decided that she was not about to abandon these people she was freeing as of now, nor was she forgetting about Yakko and his sibs- they needed her right now, as did a lot of other people, and if no one was coming to her rescue, she would have to do it herself.

There was a collective murmur in the dungeon now; people were eyeing her and muttering to their cellmates at the same time. A few of them stood up, gripping their barred doors, waiting for Cassie to get to them. She didn't know which door to do after she finished one; there were so many, and many of the prisoners were now trying to get her attention, asking her to unlock their door next.

"Shh! We can't risk them hearing us!" She hissed as loud as she dared. The noise dropped substantially, but people were still trying to whisper for her. Mary walked past her, unlocking doors as fast as she could. People stepped out of their cells, looking around, as if wondering what to do next.

Cassie caught their attention, and spoke to the people who had just gotten sprung from their cells. "When you get free, take a key off that ring, start unlocking more doors- do it quickly, we don't have any time! And I need you all to stay in here until I get everyone out, or they'll get on to us. "

A few of them followed orders, lining up to take keys, but a couple people tried sneaking off to the main double exit doors.

Cassie was holding on to two padlocks, one in each hand, and she spoke without turning her head. "If you touch those doors, I will blast you from behind with a handful of corrosive energy."

She heard a few people scoff and mutter under their breath, but she heard no doors being opened, so she took it as a good sign. Two more padlocks broke open, and she tossed them to the ground, stepping aside so the prisoners could open the doors and step out of their cells. She heard more and more doors being opened, creaking open. Her heart gave a hopeful bound in her chest, and she took a deep breath, praying that she wasn't about to get these people killed.

She grabbed two more padlocks and they sizzled instantly at her touch. She looked at the cells in front of her- one had a single young woman huddled in a ratty blanket in the corner, and in the other, a teenage boy who looked starved.

He had dark brown hair that fell over his eyes, dark eyes, and wore thin, bland clothes like all the other prisoners. He appeared to be sleeping at first, but his eyes fluttered open at the sound of the sizzling metal, and he saw Cassie gripping the padlocks, staring down at him. He blinked and pushed himself up, groaning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Blinking again, he looked her up and down with an unreadable expression.

"Are you the one?" he finally asked.

Cassie tried to keep the surprise form reflecting on her face, but it probably ended up showing anyway. "Am I the one what?"

He pushed himself up farther, still staring at her. "The one they talk about."

Cassie gripped the padlocks harder, the metal popping and loosening in her hands. "Who's they?"

"Everyone. The entire castle. They talk about this girl who has all these powers, and can make flashes of light and stuff- are you her?" The locks broke off in Cassie's hands, and she tossed them down.

"More than flashes of light, evidently." She said, moving on to the next cell. She saw there were only a few more cells before she'd be done, but now there was a crowd of people who she had to somehow get out of the castle safely, before going off to find Yakko, who was God knows where. Then there was only the small matter of defeating Griselda and the entire Tick army next on the list, along with reclaiming Acme Falls. No biggie.

She grabbed two more locks, and was about to concentrate when she hesitated. After a few second's consideration, she stepped back to the teenager, who was still on the floor.

"They talk about me?" she asked.

The guy adjusted his position on the floor, looking too weak to even roll over by himself. Cassie bent down and offered her hand, which he took. She pulled him up, surprised at how much he weighed, despite how skinny he looked.

"Yeah, you're name's everywhere. Bennett, right?"

She nodded numbly, retracting her hand. "Cassie."

"Cameron." He said, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "So… this is a jailbreak?" He took a look around at the crowd of prisoners milling around, speaking in hushed tones.

"I guess…" she said. A few people passed her, holding keys, and Cassie relaxed, leaning back against the stone, resting her eyes and sighing. "Who are you, anyway?" she asked, half- conscious. She was tired of trying to sound polite.

She heard Cameron's voice came from next to her right ear. "I used to live far out in the village, near the edge. I heard Griselda was planning a takeover a long time ago, and I refused to sign the contract that would require me to train to be in the army. They were trying to recruit all the boys in the kingdom for battle, even the younger ones. My whole family supported Griselda except for me, so they made me sign the contract, and I was in training for a few months. I was in this castle for a year before I caused so much trouble that they put me here."

Cassie kept her eyes closed, but she thought for a few moments. "How long have you been in here?"

"I don't know. Months, probably."

The two of them stood in silence, both leaning against the freezing stone. Cassie thought for an even longer time. "And you haven't seen your family since then?"

Cameron didn't hesitate. "No. I don't even know where they are or if they're still alive. They probably are, though, they're big Griselda advocates." Cassie said nothing, while Cameron continued talking.

"They said you had a necklace or something- some jewel that had powers, but- you don't have one." Cassie opened her eyes enough to see him eyeing her neck, which was bare, as she just now remembered. She absentmindedly reached up and felt around the skin on her collarbone; she had always had the necklace on, and she hadn't really had the time to experience the weird feeling of its absence.

"Oh, yeah, it's gone…" she muttered. She let her eyes shut again, as she already felt drained of power. She felt Cameron shift his weight next to her.

"Where is it?" he asked. His voice sounded hazy.

"Doesn't matter." She said, cracking open an eye to see if all the cells had been opened. She saw someone unlock the last one, and she snapped her eyes open.

"I forgot- we have to hurry…" she started making her way to the end of the hallway, but she felt dizzy, and stumbled. Someone who she couldn't see grabbed and steadied her, but she could barely hear what they were saying.

Suddenly, she felt like another electric current ad went through her, and she jolted awake.

_I guess that's like my internal alert system for when I'm going all narcoleptic. That's one heck of an alarm clock. _

"Cassie? Cassie?" Cameron was shaking her.

"I'm fine," she said, slipping out of his arms. "Come on, I need your help." She continued making her way towards the doors, Cameron trailing behind.

"_My_ help?" he said as they pushed past the crowd.

"Yep," she muttered, squeezing past the last few people to get to the front. She let off a small burst of violet light go off, and all eyes went to her, the hushed murmur slowly dying down.

"Okay, listen, guys- I know you're excited that you're free, but you have to listen to me; this is still very serious. You could get killed if you're caught, and that will happen if you don't stick together. Cameron's going to lead you out of here." She pointed to Cameron, who gave small start.

"Me?" He said.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's why I'm pointing to you."

"But I-"

Cassie turned to him sharply. "Look, you said you'd been here for a year, you know this place, right? You have to get everyone else out of here, I've got to do something somewhere else, and I need to go fast. Can you do it or not?"

Cameron took one quick look at her, then at the crowd of prisoners staring at them, and nodded back to Cassie. "Yeah, I got it."

"Good. Thank you." She said, looking him in the eyes. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, and they reminded her of Yakko's eyes. She felt a stab of something in her heart, and she stepped aside for the prisoners. "Okay, get going. And hurry!"

The crowd started filing past her, and she looked at Cameron again. "Is there a secret passageway or something? Anything you can get by without being noticed?"

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, there're tons of them."

"Take the closest, safest one, and get them all out as fast as you can. We need to get them out without Griselda knowing."

"Got it." he said. The last of the people shuffled out, and he followed them. Cassie gave him one last look of gratitude before she took off in the other direction, towards where she remembered being dragged in. She hadn't a clue in the world where Yakko, Wako, or Dot was, but she had to find them as soon as she could before Griselda did first. Not only would she kill the Warners, but then she would have the jewel; the missing puzzle piece that completed the ugly picture.

And if Cassie had a chance of preventing any of that from happening, she was going as fast as her legs could carry her.

…...

Yakko struggled to keep up with Rosetta. They had been running through more dungeon halls for a while, and had slowed to a steady jog to conserve energy. She was at least ten paces ahead of him, and he was starting to have to sprint to keep up; and it was completely embarrassing, as well. She had been trekking through forests and mountains for the past two months, deprived of food and water, been wounded and bruised up, was carrying a backpack and gun, was a _girl_, for crying out loud, and she was still outrunning him. Unbelievable.

"Rose-" he gasped. Now he couldn't even finish words. This was just not his day. "Wait up!"

"Hurry up, or I'm gonna leave you, Warner." She called over her shoulder.

"Stop going so fast!" He complained, his heart beating out of his chest.

"Stop going so slow."

Yakko rolled his eyes, trying to dig deep and see if he could run for much longer at this pace before he collapsed. "You know, I think we missed a turn back there somewhere."

Rosetta slowed her pace enough so that she was running next to him. "How would you know?"

"I don't know. I'm kind of just looking for an excuse to stop for a few seconds."

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "Look, do you want to get to Cassie in time or not?"

Yakko breathed heavily through his words. "Yes, of course I do, I just want to be _alive_ when I do it."

Rosetta apparently had enough lung capacity to sigh heavily and not be breathing as heavily as he was. "Maybe if you talked less, you'd run faster."

"Hey," he breathed. "If I can't talk, I can't do anything else."

"I can believe that." Rosetta drawled. "Oh, wait- I can't believe it, I completely forgot to tell you," she breathed, her hand pulling something out from the folds of her jacket.

Yakko was confused. "What?" Rosetta slowed down, to a slightly leisurely pace, and Yakko slowed down with her.

"We found this in the woods a couple weeks ago."

She handed him a limp scrap of yellowed paper that was torn at the edges, and that, he could even feel under his gloves, was slightly damp. Turning it over, Yakko's stomach jumped upside down when he realized what he was holding; the picture. The picture of him, his sibs, and his parents, taken a long time ago, the one he'd lost to the wind while climbing the mountain, which seemed like it had been ages since.

Immediately gripping the edges, Yakko blinked and stared at it, bringing it closer to his face, drinking in every detail of the photo, down to the way the left half of the shot was slightly blurred, while the other half was perfectly clear. He eyed the fountain behind all five of them, and vaguely remembered the fine spray of water which had been bouncing in the wind, that had tickled the fur on the back of his neck while he had been posing. His eyes travelled and hovered over every face, his siblings', especially his parents'. He was holding the photo with one hand while he used the other one to rub the fatigue out of his eyes, when Rosetta suddenly spoke.

"We found it wedged in some tree branches. It had been months after you guys had escaped; after the attack. And you know… about what I said earlier, that I never thought you guys could have done it by yourselves- I didn't mean that." Yakko still stared at the picture, wondering if she thought he was listening to her, as he pretended not to be taking in every word, sudden rushes of gratitude and melancholy washing over him.

After pausing uncertainly, Rosetta continued. "I mean, when we found that picture, everybody thought I was crazy, but I began to hope you guys were alive somewhere. It was kind of like a beacon of hope, even though nobody else believed me. I knew you guys were too persistent for death to catch up with you just yet."

She cracked a small smile that Yakko was too mesmerized to return, and stood, watching him stare at the photo in silence. Yakko noticed the hand he was holding it with was slightly trembling, although he couldn't tell if it was because of the wave of emotion that was sweeping through him, or sleep deprivation.

"Thank you." He finally said, his words coming out slightly hoarse, like he had strained his voice recently, when he really hadn't talked much in the past day, which was weird. He looked over at her and tried to convey all the words he was too tired to voice through his eyes.

Looking back at him, Rosetta gave him a brief half smile again and then turned back to their course. Yakko hastily folded the picture up along its age-old crease lines, stuffing it in his pocket, this time pushing it deep down where it couldn't escape again, and then followed Rosetta down the halls of stone.

"We're here- the stairs." Rosetta climbed in front of him, grabbing a torch from its holder, and using it to light the path. The stairs went up two flights, and led to a heavy wooden door. Yakko held the torch while he waited for Rosetta to check if the coast was clear. She signaled for Yakko to follow her, and they stepped through the door, into yet another dimly lit hallway.

"Where is everyone?" Yakko whispered.

Rosetta kept looking left and right, holding her gun up. "My people are most likely drawing all the attention to themselves at the center of the castle. That's where all the Ticks are- we're near Griselda's tower; I'm guessing this is where Cassie'll be."

Yakko nodded to himself. "Let's hope so."

Rosetta kept on checking every direction. "But there could still be guards up here. You might want to get a weapon at some point, by the way." She added.

Yakko suddenly felt incredibly dumb. "Oh, yeah." He muttered. "That would probably be a good idea."

Suddenly, there was noise from the other side of the wall- Rosetta and Yakko's heads both turned to the left, and they both ran to the nearest door.

"Let me check," Rosetta whispered. She peered through the cracked door, which let in what looked like moonlight. Her eyes widened suddenly.

"What?" Yakko said. "What?"

"It's- it's her, it's Cassie!"

"_What?!_" Yakko exclaimed, pushing past her, and ignoring her shushing him. The door opened to a balcony, which looked over all the lower levels of a tower. On the level just below them was a group of guards chasing after a sprinting figure-

"Cassie," Yakko breathed. "Come on!" he grabbed Rosetta's sleeve and dragged her out the door, feeling an unprecedented energy taking over his system.

Rosetta tried to stay where she was. "Wait, Yakko, we can't just-"

"Come on, we're gonna lose them!" he said, not bothering to lower his voice. He took off towards the stairs that led to the lower level, and heard Rosetta cursing under her breath as she ran after him. They tore down the stairs just in time for Rosetta to get two guards down with her gun. The others glanced at them in surprise, and in that moment, Yakko's grabbed a dumbstruck Cassie's wrist and yanked her down the hallway. He focused on the hallway, but kept glancing at her every couple seconds. She looked pale, bruised, and sweaty, her hair was messed up, there were a few spots of grime on her face, and there were a few scratches running up and down her arms. Yakko thought she had never looked better.

"Ya-" She tried.

"Just run!" he yelled. They flew down the hall, Rosetta close behind them. She was doing her best to shoot at their pursuers over her shoulder. She caught a huge suit of armor instead, which fell over, tripping a few guards initially, and causing a pile up as they all managed to trip over each other. Yakko turned his head to watch them all taking a tumble before he whipped back around and managed to focus on the path right before he tripped over a fold in the carpet.

"How did you get so many behind you?" He breathed.

She managed to give him a look from the side. "You try sneaking around a castle by yourself!" She managed.

"Yeah, we were, that's how we found you, it wasn't that hard!"

"Oh, you _always_ have do get technical, don't you-"

Rosetta came bursting between them, having put on a spurt of extra speed. "Both of you, shut up!"

Yakko bit back his retort and turned down a corner, thrusting open the first door he saw.

It was a deserted armory, full of different pieces of equipment and armor. There was no light save for the blazing fire that was roaring in the hearth. Yakko wondered who was tending to it, and if they were around anywhere close, but didn't have time to say anything before Rosetta leapt into the room last, slamming and bolting the door behind her. They all waited in silence, holding their breath, until they heard thundering footsteps and shouts flying past the door. They waited until the noises disappeared, and then all exhaled simultaneously.

Cassie reached for a chair, but stumbled, and Yakko grabbed her before she fell, supporting her by putting an arm around her back to help her stand upright, and slipping one of hers around his shoulders. He actually wasn't surprised she didn't aim a punch at him for doing it; she looked too weak, too battered, and was breathing heavily, struggling to catch her breath. Gasping for air, she staggered still, gripping Yakko's arm. Instead of turning to face him, expressing how relieved she was to see him, thanking him for saving her, maybe telling him how heroic he was, she eyed the only other person that was there, instead.

"What...is... _she_... doing here?"

Rosetta made a sour face at her, and readjusted her grip on her lethal-looking gun. "Guess, Tinker Bell."

Glowering at her, Cassie took a single step towards her before her knees almost buckled, which was not in the least bit intimidating, but Yakko tugged her backwards. "Save it, we're going to have to start running again, depending on how many guards are coming for us."

"This is just conjecture, but I'd say about five or six." Rosetta supplied.

"How... would _you_ know?" Cassie said in between breaths, swaying on her own two feet, still managing to glare at her. Yakko felt invisible at the moment, standing between them. _What _is_ it with these two?_

Rosetta's eyes flicked over to her again, with that cold and steely glint in them again. "Judging by the number of footsteps we heard earlier, it sounded like that many. And thanks for the attitude, by the way."

Yakko cut in before Cassie could say anything. "Hey, this isn't a chick flick. Enough with the fighting so we can move, before we get captured or skewered or something."

Cassie finally turned to face him, looking at him pointedly. "We're not running."

"Nice to see you, too. And, ex-squeeze me? This is a rescue, not a suicide attempt."

"Yeah, well, change of plans." She said, shakily sliding out from under his arms. "I know what I have to do now, and I need you guys to help me."

Yakko cocked his head to one side, and Rosetta gave her a confused look. "What?" They said in unison.

There was an element of urgency in Cassie's voice now. "Listen, I have a plan to take Griselda out, but it'll only work if you two come with me. We can end this whole war, but it has to be now, and I can't do this by myself."

"Cass, you can barely _stand_ by yourself." Yakko said, gesturing to the way Cassie was gripping the edge of the wall in her white hands. She said nothing, her eyes traveling from his to a space a few feet from the left of his face.

Rosetta put a hand on her hip. "You seriously think you have to do this?"

"I _know_ I have to." She said. "I'm done running. I'm _done_ watching Griselda tear people's lives apart. That witch needs to be stood up to, and if no one else will do it, I will."

Yakko started to take a step towards her, but stopped, staring at Rosetta for a couple of seconds. Rosetta awkwardly took a step backwards.

"I'm gonna, um… check the perimeter." She turned to make her way towards the door that was on the other side of the room, leaving them behind. Yakko turned back to Cassie, who looked even whiter than normal.

"I thought you were gone… I thought I'd never see you again." He was a little unnerved by how serious he sounded to himself, but ignored it, watching Cassie's tired eyes travel up his body before finally meeting his.

"Same here." She said, staring with her vividly green eyes. Yakko suddenly felt like he was the one who needed to hold on to something to stay upright; he felt shivers go up and down his spine.

"So… are we not going to talk about what happened in the library, or-"

"Not right now." She said, looking away.

Yakko frowned. "Really? Not even a little bit?"

"No." She said firmly.

"Seriously?"

"Yakko-" She rolled her eyes.

"Because I feel like we could just continue from where we left off, you know-"

She glared at him. "Yakko, listen! I meant to tell you-I'm sorry, about… what happened back there, when I left-" She said, looking down again. "I screwed up, I almost got you guys killed again-"

"Doesn't matter." He pulled her chin up so she was looking at him again, cutting across her. "Wakko and Dot are out of the way now."

"Where?" She said immediately.

"Scratchy's leading them somewhere else, a safe spot until this is over. The rest of those guys from Acme Falls are here, too." He said, before she could ask. "They're all fighting down there, with the rest of the resistance."

"How-"

"I don't know. They survived somehow." He said. "And, frankly, we should kind of be focused on that ourselves, we kind of only have a matter of time before they catch up with us."

"I told you, _we're not running._" She said defiantly, her eyes boring into his in a way that was annoyingly familiar. "Listen to me when I say that if we don't go back now, we're going to lose this war, and every single person in Warnerstock who gave their life to defend their town from being taken over will have died for nothing."

He began protesting. "There has to be another way, though-"

"There _isn't_." She said. "I've got to go back there and get rid of her before she can murder anyone else."

He gaped at her incredulously. "You were almost killed! If you think I'm going to risk losing you again, you're wrong." She blushed suddenly, looking down at her hands, which were clasped; she took some time to answer, her voice quiet and monotonous.

"There are more important things right now." As if to help look surer of herself, she stood up a little straighter, although it looked like it took some difficulty.

"Not to me." He said, reaching out to take her hand in his.

Cassie pulled her hand away, abandoning her gentle tone. "_Someone_ has to do something, Yakko. We can't just keep taking the easy road every time."

"Oh, yeah, up until now, _this_ was the easy road." Yakko drawled, using his comment to cover up being somewhat stung by her rejection.

"I'm just saying, if I'd had my stuff together earlier, none of this would have happened!" Cassie snapped.

"Maybe, but you also could have been killed, and that's not really on my wish list!" He had raised his voice along with hers, and he could hear their words echoing off the walls.

"_Maybe_, but this whole problem would have been solved, wouldn't it?"

Yakko glared at her. "It's not worth it, okay? I'm not letting you go back there if-"

Cassie looked at him incredulously, stepping towards him so they were inches apart. "Oh, you're not gonna _let_ me?"

A noise broke the tension between them as Rosetta, looking annoyed, had suddenly appeared in front of them, pushing them both away from each other with more force than necessary.

"Both of you shut up, they're going to hear us, and then you'll be sorry." She hissed. "Can't leave you two alone for five seconds."

"We'd be out of here already if bookworm here would just get ahold of herself." Yakko drawled, satisfied by the way Cassie glared at him. If she wasn't going to comply with him, then he'd get on her nerves until she forgot all about her little plan.

"I could've gotten past those six guards back there _twice _in the time I've spent arguing with you."

"Well, aren't you ambitious." He said, suddenly having to taking a step back when she suddenly moved towards him.

"Why won't you just listen to what I'm saying? Griselda's _vulnerable_ right now, if we can get to her, then-"

Yakko cut across her. "I don't care how vulnerable she is, so are _you_. What makes you think you can take her on right now, what kind plan is this anyway?"

She rolled her eyes. "God, you sound just like my dad, and I've only spoken to him for about ten minutes of my entire life."

Yakko saw Rosetta's eyes uncomfortably searching Cassie's bruised body and pale complexion. "Cassie, look at you. You're still unstable, and you look like you've been beaten up."

"Nobody asked you." Cassie snapped. "And, yeah, great observation skills. Do you have a point, or are you just trying to show off?"

Rosetta scowled at her. "I'm just telling you, you won't stand a chance against that queen; not in this condition."

"We have to try." Cassie said determinedly, staring at her straight in the eyes. "We were gone for two months, weren't we? What, did the mass takeover just take a break? Tell me things haven't gotten worse."

Rosetta, for once, did not have anything else to say. She looked at her feet, like she was thinking over the time that had passed. Yakko had never given thought to how much destruction Griselda could have caused in the time they had been gone. Sure, he had just seen his friends from Acme Falls, but what about the rest of the town? What about Tauntwood, was the resistance the last of their population? How much of Warnerstock was under the queen's control?

"_Now _do you see what I'm saying?" Cassie said, with a hint of relief in her words. "We can fight Ticks all day, but they'll just keep coming, unless we take out this problem at the source. It's the only way."

"I see what you're saying..." Rosetta said slowly. Yakko knew Cassie well enough by now to know that she was still irritated by Rosetta's mere presence, by the way a tiny muscle under her eye twitched, and her back stiffening.

"Yes?" She forced.

"But... I mean, _how?_ How are _you_ going to do this?" Cassie seemed to take no offense to Rosetta's emphasis on "you", but she shifted her weight and crossed her arms. Yakko noticed that she no longer needed to grab the wall for support. One of her hands was closed around something, but Yakko couldn't see what.

"With you..." She said, looking at Yakko, making his heart suddenly thud in his chest. "_Both_ of you, I guess." She forced again, eyeing Rosetta with something like regret.

Yakko spoke up. "Okay, you're still not explaining enough. How are we going to stop this chick if she knows so much more about the diamond and you've only been using it for a few weeks?"

Cassie looked at him for a second, her expression unreadable, and slowly unfolded the fingers of her right hand to reveal the diamond glowing in her palm. Yakko blinked in surprise. _How the heck did she get that out of my pocket?_

She stood, scanning both of their bewildered expressions, giving them a questioning look. "Do you trust me?"

**Ok, that's it for this chap- pleeeeeeease review, guys! Tell me if it made you laugh, made you think, made you made you cry (idk why you would have cried unless you hated it, so put that in if that's case) and all that good stuff. Ok, again, sorry it took so long, but I've have been unbelievably busy. I just finished moving into a new house, so it's been super hectic. Anyway, see you guys hopefully later! Don't forget to review! Love you guys 3**


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